


The Ties That Bind

by Mendeia



Category: Batman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Coming Out As A Normal Person To Superheroes, Crossover, Daddy Issues, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Terrible Jokes, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-19
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2017-11-26 00:56:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/644772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mendeia/pseuds/Mendeia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Titans are called to Gotham to handle something unusual, Raven is confronted with some of her worst fears, Robin tries to reunite with his father, and Beast Boy discovers that love can be very hard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Past Returns

**Author's Note:**

> A few things before we begin:
> 
> 1) This story is a crossover between several different series, but it is primarily a story about the Teen Titans. Don't be surprised when we meet other characters (who do link together, after all), but just keep in mind that, interesting as some of those other characters may be, the focus here are the Teen Titans themselves (if you like the Static Shock references, go read my fic on that series).
> 
> 2) This story takes place amidst a couple of different timelines. In the Teen Titans universe, this is shortly after the trip to Tokyo. In the Static Shock universe, this takes place before Ebon and Hotstreak are accidentally merged into one being, but not much before (probably within weeks of that event). In the Batman universe (The New Adventures animated version), this takes place after Tim has begun to step into Dick's old role as Robin. And I do realize that to some degree the Teen Titans and Batman cartoon universes aren't possible because of Robin's age difference between series, but I'm not the one who made the cartoons that way! So we're just going to stick with the Teen Titans age, since that makes the most sense.
> 
> 3) I am deliberately taking some liberties with how the Teen Titans met, but it's nothing extraordinarily different from what is shown in the episode "Go!" The only thing I am adjusting is the relationship between Robin and Raven prior to their encounter with the others. I am also taking some liberties with the Batman universe regarding Tim Drake (his appearance, his history, etc). What can I say? Deal with it.
> 
> 4) I am attempting to explore a couple of things in this story: Beast Boy – Raven (romantic) interaction, Robin – Batman (father/son) interaction, and Raven's inner struggle with herself (and Ebon). Those of you who are crazy Robin – Starfire fans, sorry. I put that pairing in this story, but it's not my focus so I'm not going to spend a lot of time developing it. 
> 
> And, of course, as always, I do not own the Teen Titans, Batman, any of the Static Shock characters, the Justice League, or anybody else who accidentally ends up in this story. They all belong to various other legal and creative bodies, and while I can whine and pine, they will never be mine.
> 
> I'm having a hard time finding the inspiration to pull this story together, so any support or insight or new ideas would be welcome. I do know where I want it to END, but getting it there is a different problem...
> 
> Thanks and enjoy!

Robin stood alone on the roof of the Titan's Tower just after sunrise. The ocean was calm today, its waves barely seeming to ripple against the rocks below. Looking out into the bay and the ocean beyond, Robin felt his heart flop again. He wished he could be as calm as the sea, wished that the waves rippling his everyday sensibilities would subside. Serenity was the one skill he had never been able to master, not when it mattered.

Feeling a prickle on the back of his neck, Robin turned to see Raven coming to stand beside him. He wasn't surprised; he had expected she would want to see him after his announcement downstairs. She was, in a lot of ways, Robin's best friend and his only equal. Robin had risked everything to save her from Trigon, and in bringing her back to the world, had been gentler with Raven than he had ever been with another human being. Robin did have incredible faith in Raven; he was sure that if goodness could live in the heart of one such as her, tried and scarred as she was, then there was always hope for the world. Of all his friends, Raven was unique among them in his estimation. Not the way Robin and Starfire were more than friends; this was closer to brother and sister.

As she approached, the boy wonder could tell Raven was in her own way as anxious as he was. Ever since Raven had entered his mind to save him from the delusions of Slade's mask, there had been a bond between them, one Robin little understood and yet deeply appreciated. The psychic link had resulted in more than just a deepening of trust; bits of Raven's thoughts and feelings leaked through to Robin sometimes, enhancing their mutual support and camaraderie as well as their teamwork. He had a sneaking suspicion that she allowed this leakage consciously because it helped her feel less isolated knowing she was understood. Especially after the experience with Trigon, the bond had grown, and the sense of kinship between the heroes deepened. Not that they never spoke of it. Raven rarely spoke of anything intimate or emotional like that, but Robin was pretty sure he knew Raven's heart better than anyone ever had. Now, she stood silently, sharing his view of the sea for a few moments before breaking the stillness.

"You're not going to tell them, are you?" Raven's emotionless voice was tinged with a rare inflection; it wasn't accusation, not exactly, but something more like rebuke. Robin sighed.

"I'll have to tell them eventually. Once we get there, everything will come out. About me and my past and…" Robin turned from the horizon and looked at Raven, trying to keep his own emotions out of his voice. "I've never really been open with any of you about who I was before the Titans. You're the only one who knows anything about me as someone other than Robin, and given the chance, I probably wouldn't have told you, either. How do you start that kind of conversation? I can't just walk back there and say, 'well, by the way, I had a whole other life before and it was like this and, oh, yeah, he's my father.' "

"Yes, you can," Raven said, her monotone voice more gentle. "I did." She gave the smallest of smiles, and Robin smiled wryly in return. She was right, of course, and he knew it. Raven had had to have that very conversation with the Titans, over a year ago, when her own father and her past were suddenly flung into the present. Of course, Raven's father was far different. He was evil incarnate. Robin's father was just, well, he wasn't normal but at least he wasn't evil. But if the Titans could handle the shock of finding out that Raven's father was the devil himself, Robin's father could hardly be more of a shock to them.

"Do you want to go back?" Raven asked Robin.

"Well, sort of. I want to see him again, show him how much I've changed. And I'm curious about why he called us in," another smile, "but how do I go back there and stay the person I've become here? You know what he's like. I don't want to become different just because I'm back in that house. And I have no idea how he'll react to Starfire. Talk about polar opposites." He groaned.

"Well, look at it this way. He's never asked for help before, and he's never called you back. Maybe things will be different this time. And my guess is there's more to this than meets the eye." She stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder. Raven rarely touched her teammates, but when she did, it meant something. "Besides, you're not going alone." Again with Raven's tiny smile. Even with the blue cloak hiding part of her face, Raven's eyes were kind.

"You're probably right," Robin conceded, taking a breath. "Thanks." At Raven's arched eyebrow, he explained, "for keeping my secrets all this time. And for understanding."

"It's the least I can do," Raven replied. She turned to look back at the sea, dropping her hand, and Robin felt a weight lift off his shoulders, the emotional weight of being so anxious. She was right. He wasn't alone this time and he was a new person. It would be okay.

Robin started to say something else, but a loud CRASH and a shake from the floor below interrupted him. Dimly, somewhere, they could hear Cyborg shouting at Beast Boy.

"The more things change," Robin began, turning back to the stairs.

"The more they stay the same," Raven finished firmly. Catching each other's eye, they both went down to intercept whatever had just erupted in the living room. It didn't take a mind-reader to know there would be a mess to clean up before they could leave.

 

-==OOO==-

 

Several hours earlier, in fact, very early in the morning (if you could call it morning), a box underneath Robin's bed began to make a persistent beeping noise. Robin, being a light sleeper, woke at the first sound from the long-forgotten communicator. With a thrill, of fear and excitement and a great deal of surprise, he pulled the little-used box out and opened it. Inside, tucked between a few pictures, some old weapons, and a very familiar utility belt, resided a small communicator. It was the same technology that the Teen Titans used, but instead of being round and yellow, it was long, black, and shaped like a bat.

"Robin here," he said automatically, wondering what could cause such an out-of-the-blue communication. The screen fuzzed, then resolved into the face of a man Robin hadn't seen in almost three years: Bruce Wayne.

"Sleeping in your mask, I see," Bruce said dryly. Robin remembered how much Bruce hated a lack of discipline or self-awareness, which forgetting to remove his mask indicated. He blushed slightly and pulled it off. Besides Raven, none of the Teen Titans had ever seen him without it.

"What's going on?" Robin asked, hoping he sounded matter-of-fact and logical.

"I require you to return to me, Dick," Bruce said, and the sound of his name in his adopted-father's voice caused him to straighten his shoulders a touch more. "There is a new problem in Gotham and I believe you and your team will be better suited to dealing with it than I alone."

"What kind of problem?"

"How much do you know about the goings-on in the city of Dakota?" It was just like him to answer a question with a question.

"Some chemical genius accidentally exposed a portion of the population to some gas and many of them have developed a range of abilities. Two of them, Static and Gear, have emerged to look out for the citizens," he reported woodenly. Of course he had kept up on the news in the last few years. Secretly, Robin was just as glad that Dakota had a couple of heroes of its own; he had enough to do trying to look out for Jump City.

"That's correct. Well, it appears that a few of the 'Bang Babies' as they are colloquially called have relocated to Gotham. Their powers are extraordinary."

"Sir," Robin began hesitantly. He hated interrupting Bruce; it always ended in a scowl. However, this time, his mentor only waited for him to continue. "If they're from Dakota, why don't you ask Static and Gear to come? They're more experienced with them, and…" Robin trailed off, suddenly sorry he had mentioned it. This was the first time ever that Bruce had called him home. Did he sound like a coward, unwilling to come back to his old haunts? Did he sound afraid, or worse, not up to the task?

"I do realize that," Bruce said not unkindly, "but Static and Gear are rather in the middle of some other things right now, and cannot be called away." Robin saw Bruce's face twitch ever so slightly, and guessed it had something to do with the Justice League, of which the two Dakota heroes were junior members. Robin never knew how Superman had convinced Batman to join their club, but he knew from long experience how little regard Bruce had for the whole mess at times. At heart, Batman was truly a loner. Bruce continued, however, "As I am not precisely equipped to deal with these abilities, I thought it more prudent to contact you directly. As such, I would like to extend my hospitality to you and your team for such time as is needed to deal with this…problem."

"Of course we'll come. I'll wake the others and we can be in Gotham this afternoon," Robin said. He felt like doing backflips. His mentor, his father, wanted his help and he was going home. It felt like a miracle. It was worrisome, for sure, as he would now be tested to the height of his abilities by the only man whose opinion had ever mattered, but after three years, Dick Grayson missed his adoptive father more than he could possibly admit, even to himself.

"Very well. I shall inform Alfred to prepare an evening meal for us then. I am, ahem, already conversant with the various requirements and diets of your team." He raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat amused. That was Bruce's subtle way of reminding Robin that it was the Wayne money that supported the whole team's expenditures. The Titans never really asked Robin where all the money came from for the Tower, their technology, or their food, given that they all knew the stipend from the mayor of Jump City wasn't nearly enough, and Robin hadn't ever found a good way to explaining it. But sometimes he felt ashamed of how much they ate, or broke, at Bruce's expense.

"Oh, and Dick?" Bruce said, as if it had suddenly occurred to him, which of course it hadn't, "You will not wear that mask in the house. Alfred won't have it and neither will I. Please inform your friends as to the situation and all its particulars on that matter. I shall see you in a few hours." The ghost of a smile played across the man's strong face, and then he cut the transmission.

The boy wonder sat back on his heels and digested that last comment. "The situation and all its particulars" could only mean one thing: Bruce was telling him to tell the Titans their secret identities. If he was not going to be allowed to wear his mask, then Bruce did not expect to keep secrets from the team. That thought chilled him. Out of habit, he placed the mask firmly back over his face, its familiar warm fabric a comfort. Living behind the mask helped Robin keep work separate from Dick and his emotions, but Robin wondered if he was just fooling himself, that somehow he was as open and vulnerable to his friends as if he had been honest about himself all along.

-==OOO==-

 

The morning had passed very quickly after that. Robin, safely wrapped in his costume again, promptly woke everyone and told them that they were going on a trip, once the grumbling about the pre-dawn wake-up call had receded. Raven had raised an eyebrow at him, and Robin knew somehow that she had guessed everything. He supposed he must be radiating a sense of "home" that she would empathically understand. The other three were less reserved in their responses.

"Where are we going, Robin?" Starfire asked, her face lit by excitement. "Is it a vacation as was our time in Japan? Although," her face fell a bit, "I had believed a 'vacation' to be slightly more restful experience than that visit."

"Booyah!" shouted Cyborg. "Time to get outta the city and cut loose!"

"Yeah," echoed Beast Boy, jumping up in some kind of dance, "we're gonna party like it's, uh…" He stopped and looked around. "What year is it, anyway?"

"I don't think this is going to be a vacation, Beast Boy," Raven said, pinning the changeling with her eyes. Beast Boy had the decency to wiggle under her glare, but still perked his ears at Robin.

"So where're we going, then?"

"Gotham City. We're needed. Everybody pack light, and I mean LIGHT," Robin said, reminding his team about the mess that had happened when they tried to pack for Japan. He pointedly ignored Raven's slight nod as the others began to discuss packing.

"I'll still need all my tools and parts, man," Cyborg said.

"No," Robin said with a smile. "You won't. Trust me."

 

-==OOO==-

 

After the discussion with Raven on the rooftop, Robin felt like he could finally restore some order. Maybe not in himself, but at least among his teammates, anyway. Truth be told, the last thing Robin wanted to appear before Batman with was, instead of a team of hardened, well-trained heroes, a group of arguing and frivolous teens on a holiday. Unfortunately, organizing Beast Boy was, as usual, a challenge. By the time Raven and Robin got back to the living room, they saw the result of what appeared to be an argument between Cyborg and Beast Boy about who needed to bring more stuff, which had somehow ended in the suitcases going everywhere and the couch getting ripped. Again.

Robin maintained his temper pretty admirably, but he made it clear that this behavior was not going to fly in Gotham.

"I want everybody packed and in the T-Ship in the next five minutes or you can stay here with Titans East and look after Jump City! Got it?"

Robin's face was set and the more rambunctious Titan, at whom most of the criticism was leveled, shrunk an inch or two, then proceeded to throw only one green bag in the storage compartment. Raven had two bags, which by the look and heft of them were probably books, which Robin did not bother to argue about. Starfire had three purple and pink bags, and goodness knew what was in them, but at least they weren't moving. Cyborg after arguing with Robin about what kind of "facilities" they would have, finally settled on two bags of his specialized equipment. Robin, after a moment's thought, took the box from under his bed, loaded a few extra bits and pieces in it, but brought nothing else. He knew what would be waiting, knew that for once, someone else would be planning ahead for him.

-==OOO==-

 

The Titans set out for Gotham City, a flight significantly shorter than their recent one to Japan. As they neared the city limits, the sky nearly black even in the early afternoon, Robin's communicator beeped again. His other communicator. With the open com channels between the different cockpits, everyone could hear it. Trying not to look at any of them, Robin pulled it from where he had kept it in his belt after the morning's call. With some semblance of dignity, he activated the bat-shaped device.

"Robin here."

"Change of plans. The Metabreed are on the offensive. Send your aircraft to the hangar on autopilot," Robin breathed a sigh of relief that he had programmed their destination into the T-Ship already, "and get your team out here." There was an explosion. "We're a little outnumbered." Batman's voice was cold and authoritative.

"We're on our way!" Robin replied briskly, his blood singing inside. He cut the connection and immediately spoke to the Titans.

"Team, we've got some serious villains out there, and we've got to stop them. Get ready to leave the T-Ship and head into battle!"

"Who were you just talking to, Rob?" Cyborg asked, checking the coordinates for the autopilot.

"An old friend. I assume you've heard of Batman?"


	2. The Dark Knight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I don't own anybody in this story, just the tale itself.
> 
> Oh, one other note. I am deliberately switching perspectives here, and the narrative should reflect that. I'm going for a looser, more conscious "voice," so when you're seeing the action from Beast Boy's angle, it should feel different. That's deliberate. So no flames about omnipotent third-person or my use of contractions. You're looking over someone's shoulder, not down on top of them. Just FYI.
> 
> Enjoy!

Once the Titans had gotten that jolt out of their system, they prepared for battle. Beast Boy's face was still a perfect example of shock even as he fiddled with his controls. Batman! Everybody knew about Batman! Batman was one of the original heroes, one of those guys kids wanted to be just like when they grew up. He was in some ways the coolest hero because he, as far as everybody knew, didn't have any real "powers." He was just smart and dedicated and could handle anything! Or could he? Beast Boy started wondering why Batman would ask the Teen Titans for help. Surely the Justice League was more his style. And why did Robin have a communicator from him?

Beast Boy's ruminations were interrupted by Cyborg confirming autopilot and warning everyone to prepare to exit. Beast Boy transformed in the cockpit. Starfire couldn't help but giggle, seeing Beast Boy in his hawk-form trying to sit on the plane's seat, but Raven seemed focused inward as always. Why couldn't he ever make her smile? He flapped around, trying to get her attention, until Robin gave the command that got everybody's juices flowing.

"Titans, now!"

Cyborg hit the release button and all five wind-shields popped up at once, exposing them all to the rushing air and atmosphere in mid-flight. Raven and Starfire immediately took to the sky, while Beast Boy had to struggle with the wind, grumbling to himself about unfair superpowers and how birds weren't really meant for this. After a moment, however, he had enough balance to change into a pterodactyl instead, and reached over and plucked Cyborg out of the T-Ship as it banked off to the right, wind-shields snapping back down. With Robin hanging from Starfire's hands, they flew into the city.

Beast Boy looked around, his sight much magnified in dinosaur form. Gotham sure was different from Jump City! Both were built on a seacoast, but where Jump City was warm and sunny, Gotham seemed to exist under a perpetual storm cloud. The architecture was dark and gothic, with gargoyles and other odd formations poking out of the shadows. Everything looked gloomily majestic, both intimidating and powerful. Somehow, the whole thing reminded him of Raven. Or at least, like the front she put on. Glancing off to his left, where Raven flew, her face its usual mask of focused apathy beneath her hood, Beast Boy wondered if sunlight ever shone into the heart of Gotham, as he knew it sometimes did in Raven. But why she kept it inside was something the changeling had never really understood.

A shout from Starfire brought his attention back forward. In the shadows of the city, somewhere near what looked like the heart of town, fire spurted into the sky. Beast Boy brought his focus back to the task at hand. Robin gestured towards the evident trouble and shouted, "Let's hurry! Titans, go!"

"You say that too much," Beast Boy thought to himself, elated nonetheless. He absolutely loved being a hero, and hearing that "Titans, go" ring out always made him feel at his best. As they banked towards the chaos, Raven suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

"What is it, friend Raven? Do you sense something treacherous ahead?" Starfire asked, turning rapidly to rejoin the unmoving Raven. The beautiful alien had an innate sense for Raven's monosyllabic communication, even at her most cryptic. Raven's deep cape flapped around her legs in the wind.

"Yes. There are three of them, but one is…hidden. I can't seem to find him. But he's dangerous, more than the other two. We can't just go in there without knowing where that one is." Beast Boy thought he detected a shadow of something flick across Raven's face, but it was gone before he could name it. Robin wasted no time.

"Right. Beast Boy, you and Raven track down whatever that is. We'll take care of the other two," Robin said, disentangling his grappling line from his utility belt with one hand. Gotham hadn't changed much; he could still get around it under his own power almost as fast as any of them could fly. He launched himself out of Starfire's grip as Beast Boy transferred Cyborg to her. As the three Titans moved towards the more visible disturbance, Beast Boy switched back to a hawk. Raven floated silent for a moment, eyes closed. She had a way of holding perfectly still that was a little unnerving, and Beast Boy found himself staring idly. Good thing she couldn't tell! Finally her eyes opened.

"This way," she said, streaking off in a direction parallel to the way their friends had gone. Beast Boy followed, his keen eyes and ears and even sense of smell searching for whatever they were chasing. But whatever it was, he couldn't locate it using those senses. "I guess I'll just have to trust Raven," he thought as he winged through the wind.

 

-==OOO==-

 

As Robin swung from building to building on his grappling cord, a fierce smile lit up his face. Of course he loved flying with his friends; there was nothing like hanging from Starfire's hands or Beast Boy's claws, or those rare times when Raven allowed him to "surf" with her on a disk of her power. But this swinging from place to place under his own power was special, too. Approaching what he knew was one of Gotham's biggest banks, he saw several figures silhouetted against the firelight on the rooftop where something had obviously erupted in flames not too long before. One filled him with a sense of belonging, but another made him almost miss the next cast of his hook. It was Batman…and Robin.

Starfire set Cyborg on the burning rooftop as Robin swung into place beside them. For a moment, they all stared. It was Batman for sure, his cape flapping, his impeccable martial arts showing themselves to be better than first-rate, as he tried to deal with something that seemed to be actually in the fire that raged and backlit the whole scene. But a bit away stood another, shorter Robin, trying to take down what looked like a half-girl, half-bird in flight. Robin shook his head; he had known Bruce had taken up another ward, but not that this new kid was his new Robin as well. The costume, the fighting style, everything was his. A touch of jealousy raced through the original boy-wonder. Then he shook himself back to the situation at hand. The city needed them. Emotions could come later.

"Starfire, take that one!" he shouted, pointing at the airborne Talon, whom Robin identified from the news reports. The Metabreed. The worst of Dakota. Great. Starfire shook her head with a perplexed look on her face and went obediently off to support the other Robin, who was apparently not faring as well against a flying foe. Gesturing to Cyborg, Robin raced forward, pulling out his retractable staff. Batman was trying to get at the fire-bound kid, Hotstreak, but he definitely needed some support. The punk was even taunting Batman.

"You think you're so hot! Check this out!" he shouted, laughing, as flames burst forth and rent part of the roof under their feet into ashes.

"Well, in case you hadn't heard, we're here to cool you off!" Robin shouted, racing with Cyborg to where the Dark Knight was leaping nimbly away from the crumbling parapet. Batman recovered himself and swung back around to land a blow, Robin a step behind. Cyborg planted himself and aimed his cannon at the Bang Baby, but it was Robin and Batman who seemed to fly as they moved in unforgotten harmony after something that threatened their city.

 

-==OOO==-

 

Raven finally landed on a rooftop that overlooked the building where the other Teen Titans were trying to deal with some pretty nasty-looking bad guys. Beast Boy could see one dude who threw fire making Batman and Robin and Cyborg do a hot-foot dance, which would have been funny if the building weren't actually burning around them. There was also some girl who could fly, doing circles around Starfire and…Robin? That was confusing. Shaking his head, he turned back to himself, then to a bloodhound, as Raven began moving cautiously into the shadows cast by gargoyles spread across the rooftop. Even at midday, it was still dark enough under the clouds to obscure their vision somewhat.

"Be careful, Beast Boy," she warned, her voice low. His ears pricked up as he caught the scent of something. It wasn't quite human, he was sure of that. It smelled like sulfur, sort of, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck and back stand straight up. And it was everywhere. Staying close to Raven, he tried to localize the scent.

Suddenly, blackness formed out of the shadows in front of them, a blackness darker even then Raven's soul-self. Beast Boy threw himself out of the way and returned to himself again, unsure what to do next, but Raven had no such inhibitions. Almost as if she had been expecting it, she launched herself into the air and lifted some nearby crates with her power. They exploded upon contact with the living shadow, but the being seemed unaware of the attack. Raven's eyes glowed black, and her hands burned. She switched from lifting things to actively striking with sharp lances of power. The changeling, meanwhile, shifted from foot to foot, unsure what to do, watching her fight darkness with darkness. Somehow, his instincts told him that a physical attack would not be a good idea.

"Beast Boy," she shouted as she struck the unflinching shadow that only seemed to grow larger, "stay back. Don't let it touch you, no matter what!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, hastily backpedaling away from it, instincts validated. As he looked at the shadow now, part of it kind of looked like a person.

"She means," whispered a hard voice that seemed to come from everywhere, "that I can do this!" The shadow launched itself at Beast Boy who changed quickly into a fox to dodge it, but it was faster even than he. As the shadow almost closed around him, he felt himself enveloped in Raven's familiar dark power. She dropped down beside him, hands spread wide as she held a dome around them. The shadow broke over it like a wave on the shore, pulsating against the shield, and for a moment it seemed to merge with Raven's own black light. Beast Boy, human-shaped again, couldn't actually tell her dome apart from that she defended against when they touched. Then it recoiled and struck again.

"What is this thing?" he asked, awe-struck.

"I…I'm not sure," Raven said, her face set in concentration. Beast Boy had heard Raven mad, almost happy, hopeless, courageous, and all shades of irritated, but he had only once heard her voice tinged with this kind of fear. Like the shadow, whatever or whoever it was, was really bad. Bad like Trigon had been bad.

"Uh, Raven? How are we supposed to fight it?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm not sure," she said again, this time with a familiar snap in her voice. Then she looked across at him, as though making a choice. "Stay here."

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, as she left him enclosed in her dome, slipping out of it and back up into the air. As Beast Boy watched, she resumed her attack on the shadow. As the darkness let go of Raven's shield, its attention now fully on her, Beast Boy tried to get loose, but even his strongest animal powers couldn't break through Raven's wall of dark light. Then, all at once, the shadow retreated and disappeared altogether.

"What the…?" Beast Boy started. Then, looking up at Raven, who would have looked astonished if she displayed facial expressions, he shouted, "You can let me out now!"

"Oh. Sorry," Raven said, waving her power away. She landed back on the rooftop beside him, unable to hide her troubled eyes beneath her shadowy hood.

"Why did you do that?" he asked grumpily.

"I didn't want you getting in the way," Raven said, that same harsh edge to her voice. Beast Boy crossed his arms and glared at her.

"I can take care of myself! You should know that by now!" He flailed in irritation as Raven sighed.

"I do know that, Beast Boy. But this one is way out of your league."

-==OOO==-

 

The fight felt like pure artistry. Robin was astounded by how much he had grown. Not only was he several inches taller now than he had been the last time he had fought alongside his mentor, but he was almost as fast as Batman. His instincts had been honed, too; he was far better at gauging Batman's moves and providing appropriate cover or support with cat-like reflexes. What Robin really wanted to do was to level this guy all on his own, to show Batman how far he'd come, but after the first blast of flame, that didn't seem plausible. Cyborg, maintaining a stationary position off to the side, fired his cannon many times, but Hotstreak used his fire as a shield somehow. It made it harder that they couldn't get anywhere near him for long without getting burned. Robin was about to call Starfire down from her fight when something very strange happened.

From below, out of one of the holes Hotstreak had burned in the roof, came a sudden shadow, intensely black against the grey-ish sky. It rose from the darkness of the space below and moved directly towards Hotstreak.

"Ebon," Robin heard Batman say as the Dark Knight moved to try to intercept. But as soon as the shadow reached Hotstreak, it engulfed him and retreated. A heartbeat later, a shout from Starfire above showed that Talon, too, had been pulled straight out of the fight from mid-air. Starfire gripped the arm of the other Robin and carried him to where her Robin stood waiting.

"What happened? Where'd they go?" Cyborg asked as they gathered to survey the damage. Starfire neatly ducked into the building and came up with a fire hose that promptly extinguished the remaining flames. Without Hotstreak to encourage them, the fires were now much smaller and more manageable.

"Ebon took them," Batman said, standing behind Cyborg. "They have retreated. You will return to base with me for a full debriefing." Cyborg's jaw dropped and even Starfire looked a little taken aback by Batman's cold manner. Robin shook his head a little at the familiar attitude, and saw with some satisfaction that the other Robin was also not entirely comfortable with Batman's attitude.

"Please, could someone tell me why there is another Robin?" Starfire asked, turning towards "her" Robin. "I know of your small, amusing doppelganger, but this," and she poked the second Robin in the arm, "does not seem to be quite like him."

"Hey! I'm not a 'this!' I'm a person!" shouted the shorter boy.

"I apologize. I only meant that I am most confused by the presence of two Robins. Is this one of the 'things of the guys' that I am simply not to understand?" She looked around expectantly. Cyborg sighed.

"I think we ought to…" But before the Titan's leader could get any farther, they were all interrupted by a shout from Beast Boy, somewhere above them.

"Nooo!"

 

-==OOO==-

 

As Beast Boy stared at Raven, trying to figure out how exactly to respond to her comment, his animalistic senses suddenly blazed in alarm. Raven and Beast Boy whirled around at almost the same instant, and to their horror saw the black thing rise up again, faster and more purposely than before.

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted. They were both right in its path! But instead of getting out of the way herself, Raven flung her power out wide, like a whip, and pushed Beast Boy clear off of the building. In midair he switched to a bird, streaking back as fast as his wings could carry him back to the rooftop, but he was a moment too slow. The instant Raven could have escaped was lost; the shadow fell upon her like a mudslide, engulfed her, and retreated. Raven was gone.

"Nooo!" Beast Boy found himself shouting as he dropped into his normal shape again. He raced across the blacktop to the place he thought the shadow had come from. To his surprise, he could actually see it: a whirlpool or a cloud or some kind of nightmare, blacker than the natural shadows around it, writhing against a wall like a tempest at sea. Beast Boy approached it, not entirely sure what would happen, or what he would do, when he got there. But he had to do something.

"Stop!" The order was barked from behind, and the force of it literally halted Beast Boy in his tracks. Turning in surprise, he found everyone behind him, gathered on the rooftop's edge. Batman stepped forward, his hand out. Ranged behind, Robin and Star and Cyborg and another, shorter Robin, stood battle-ready, having raced to help at his cry. In a few long strides, Batman was beside the green boy.

"Don't touch it, whatever you do." His voice was cold and emotionless.

"But Raven's in there. It grabbed her!" he shouted.

"I know. But Ebon will only pull you in, and you cannot escape him."

"Ebon?" The name sounded somehow familiar, like something Robin would have been rambling about over newspaper clippings. Beast Boy knew he should have read the news more often! The others came to stand with them, their eyes locked on the dark vortex.

"Ebon," Batman began, "is a meta-human from Dakota City, leader of the so-called Metabreed gang. He possesses incredible intelligence and is both calculating and malicious. He is a being of shadow and can travel inter-dimensionally from any place of darkness to any other, instantly, taking along any who fall or are pulled into what is left of his body." Batman, looking more shadow than man himself, stared intently at the roiling darkness before him.

"But then friend Raven…" began Starfire.

"She'll be okay, Star," Cyborg quickly comforted her, his voice warm but firm. "Raven's stronger than he is."

"I do not know what to expect. Raven is also an inter-dimensional being, and shadow as well. She does have very similar abilities. I did not anticipate something like this." The Bat's eyes narrowed.

Robin, the Titan's Robin, nearly fell over at this. Batman, not plan for an eventuality! That was like pigs flying! However, as he considered it, he himself had never noticed the parallels between Raven and Ebon, either, in spite of following the news about Dakota. Although technically they were very alike, Raven was still so different from the Metabreed leader. Besides actually having a body, she also had an active power. And a heart. Robin moved next to Beast Boy who could not take his eyes off the shadow.

"What can we do?" Beast Boy asked anyone who might answer.

"We can only wait." Batman's toneless voice had rarely sounded so heartless. "Either she will return to this side or Ebon will absorb her and disappear from this location. I believe…" and he spoke very quietly, "it largely depends on her."

 

-==OOO==-

 

What felt like hours of nervous heartbeats passed in silence. Ebon's "footprint" grew and shrank but never disappeared entirely. It seemed to fluctuate, as though attempting to do something, but what a shadow whirlpool could be attempting to do, no one had any idea. The only sounds were the city noises from the street, and the approaching sirens of the police and fire department to deal with the ruined and burning bank below.

"Ah!" Robin cried out in sudden, lurching vertigo, breaking the otherwise silent vigil and clapping his hands to his head. The world spun in front of his eyes, and he found himself on his knees. Robin was dimly aware that Batman had kneeled down to support him, and to prevent him from striking the ground. He also had some sense of the Titans gathered around, all but Beast Boy, who looked at him worriedly but whose gaze went back to Ebon's shadow.

Robin closed his eyes completely and looked inward. It was Raven, he was sure of it. The bond between them had never been so open, or so painful. Robin felt like something was literally pulling on his mind, trying to yank it from his body. He realized that his link with Raven might be the only way of reaching her, so instead of resisting it, he let go into the feeling that was drawing at him. With his eyes closed, the physical world abruptly fell away and he spiraled into shadow.

Robin was floating, dimly aware that his mind was probably part-way between the real world and Ebon's world. He could see only unending darkness, not the same kind that filled him when he traveled with Raven's soul-self, but something far more sinister in its absolute lack of light. It seemed to surround him and go on forever, like being in space without a single star, nothingness in a void. There was whispering too, even laughing, all of it cruel and harsh, echoing back and forth from the darkness, Ebon's voice and thoughts. Then, somewhere in the expanse, he could also hear Raven. She was shouting, but the words were lost in the cavernous space.

"Raven!" Robin cried out. The bond was now like a bridge in his mind, and as he moved one careful step farther along it, he could see Raven in the blackness. She was holding her power around her and flying blindly, resisting tendrils of ebony shadow that tried to wrap themselves around her. Did she seem to be getting weaker? Or was he just imagining it? Raven's power's normal ebb and flow was more strained, certainly, and he could have sworn at one point it faded entirely into the surrounding darkness that was Ebon himself.

"Raven, this way! Raven, follow me!" he shouted, things clicking into place. She needed an anchor to find her way out, an anchor that only he could provide. Robin called to her again, hoping that she had heard him through the inky galaxy. He reached for her with his mind, as though he could somehow draw her near with his own stubborn will. He felt tension, as though he had thrown a grappling hook and she was now using it to pull herself along. He bent all his strength to the line of whatever it was that led to her. A dark bird, dark but a relief against this unending blackness, rose up before his eyes, and he felt a touch in his mind. Somewhere, Raven's voice whispered, "thank you, Robin." Then the real world came rushing back.

Robin opened his eyes to see the cloud on the wall suddenly enlarge. Raven's body flew violently out of it as though launched from within, landing in Beast Boy's unsuspecting arms. Robin tried to rise to his feet, but was struck with dizziness again. Batman wordlessly gave him an arm, then led him to where Beast Boy held the dark girl. His green skin was pale, still a contrast to Raven's grey skin which was unusually colorless even for her.

"She's unconscious," the changeling said, his voice shaken. The look on his face was some bizarre mixture of confusion, relief, concern, and something else. Beast Boy made no move to hand Raven over to Cyborg, who was hovering protectively, but instead cradled her gently. He looked at Robin, whose head was finally starting to clear. "What were you yelling about?"

"I…" Robin hadn't realized he was yelling aloud. He flushed slightly, then turned to look at the others. But Batman came to the rescue, as always.

"Let us return home."


	3. Behind The Mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I don't own anybody in this story, just the tale itself.
> 
> Enjoy!

The Batcave was a welcome sight for Robin, mostly because of it hadn't changed too much, even if he and his place there had. The Teen Titan, who not so long ago would have ridden at Batman's side in the Batmobile to the manor, actually found himself more comfortably carried by Beast Boy. It was just too strange to think of the other Robin in his place. Hanging from Beast Boy's pterodactyl claws beside Cyborg, Starfire with Raven in her arms nearby, they followed Robin's instructions to the secret hangar entrance to the Batcave. Flying was much faster than navigating through Gotham, so Robin knew they would be home before Batman and the other Robin. Home.

Upon entering the dank cliff-face, Robin felt the anxiety he had been successfully ignoring come surging to the front. He felt oddly out of place, as though he no longer belonged, even as he led the team unerringly through the gloomy cavern. Although everyone was bursting with questions, they instead occupied themselves with looking around the strange hide-out. Cyborg was only barely containing his composure in the face of so many electronic gadgets. Robin had guessed right; there was a whole lab set up specifically for the bionic Titan with every tool, system, and component known to man. Starfire flew up high in the blackness so she could examine the stalactites hanging from the cave roof, which, she exclaimed, reminded her of Tamaran. Beast Boy could not keep himself from bouncing around the cave, either, once he had squeaked a few times at the resident bats above.

"Dude, check out the bike!" Beast Boy yelled, finding something off in a familiar corner. Robin turned, and found his own lab waiting for him, complete with his old cycle. It was just as he had left it. He smiled. His old motorcycle, clean and properly stored, looked great.

"Where do you think I got mine from?" he asked the curious changeling with a quirk to his smile. It took a moment for that to sink in; suddenly Robin realized that this was the moment to tell his team the truth. The time for putting it off was finally past. "Here, Cyborg, why don't you put Raven down in the infirmary?" He gestured to the alcove where he, along with Bruce, had spent many hours recuperating from various scuffles. The bed remained where it had always been, ready with clean sheets and fresh pillows. The team gathered around the old cot nervously as Cyborg gingerly tucked in the unconscious Raven.

"Nice facility," Cyborg said, his voice patient as always. He took a few quick measurements of Raven with some handy instruments, then pronounced that she seemed fine, just physically exhausted and asleep. The largest of the Titans looked at Robin expectantly, waiting for their leader to speak, but the dark-haired teen froze in unanticipated stage-fright and the moment passed. An uncomfortable silence settled around them.

"Guys, I've got something to tell you," Robin said finally, hoping his voice stayed steady and looking down at Raven on the bed. It was easier to stare at her than to look at his friends. But he couldn't put this off forever.

"Something to tell us, friend Robin?" Starfire asked in a lightly-neutral voice. She wanted to help Robin open up, but knew that he could be easily scared off the subject. For all her misused English, Starfire was a deeply-compassionate individual towards all her friends, especially Robin, and she wanted him to know he could talk to her openly. Robin had taught Starfire to trust, and she very much wished to return that kindness.

"Yeah, I've got a couple of questions, too," Beast Boy began. "Like why we're here, how you know Batman, and why there's another Robin. I mean, dude, I though one was enough!" Everybody glared at him, but he smiled good-naturedly, his single fang poking up impishly. Robin smiled, too. Just like Beast Boy to somehow make light of it all.

"I…I've never told you much about my past. But years ago, I was a pretty normal kid, except that I was raised as an acrobat." Robin decided that they didn't necessarily need to know he grew up in a circus or he would never hear the end of it. "Then, one day I lost my family in a terrible accident. I had nowhere to go and nothing to live for but a desire for justice." Robin clenched his fist. Even years later, his parents' senseless death rankled him to the core. But he rushed on, "A man took me in and gave me a home. That man was Batman."

"You mean…?" Starfire was speechless.

"Yes. I grew up here, as Batman's sidekick. By day, I was still a pretty normal kid. Well," and he smiled a bit, "as normal as I've ever been. And by night, I became Robin, sworn to help Batman defend Gotham against anyone who would threaten it. This is where I learned everything I know about crime-fighting, and where all our supplies, money, and technology comes from. This is the only other home I've ever really called my own."

"Wait, are you saying Batman pays for everything?" Cyborg said, astounded.

"Yes."

"Dude! When do I get MY motorcycle?" Beast Boy exclaimed. Robin gave him a look and he backed down. Beast Boy and Cyborg began to look around the Batcave a little more appraisingly.

"But Robin, why did you leave? Why did you come to Jump City?" Starfire asked, green eyes wide. This was the most she had ever known Robin to speak of his past. It was a sensitive subject with the most secretive of the Titans.

"Because of me," Raven said. Everyone had forgotten the unconscious girl in their midst, but her eyes were open now. There was a haunted look in her eyes, and her voice was tightly controlled, but she otherwise betrayed no emotion. "Because when I left Azarath, I came to Gotham first to try to find my way on Earth. But I couldn't stay." She looked away and closed her eyes again.

"Friend Raven, are you all right?" Starfire asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, Starfire," Raven said shortly. She sat up as though to prove it. Her face was its usual mask of impassive stoicism.

"What happened to you in there, Raven?" Cyborg asked, glancing between Raven and Robin. He hated to interrupt Robin's life story, but his concern for Raven was much greater than his curiosity.

"Ebon tried to absorb me, to take me wherever he was going. He's like a portal, a tunnel between two places. I guess the fact that I'm so much like him meant that I could resist. I was able to keep him from sending me wherever he wanted me to go, but I couldn't find the way back. Then," Raven stared straight at the boy wonder, "Robin called to me. It took all the strength I had, but I managed to link to his mind and use it like a guideline. It exhausted me, that's all. And Robin, thank you," she said softly.

"But…you…" Beast Boy began, looking strangely at Raven, then Robin.

"Let her rest now, BB," Cyborg said gently, interrupting him. "We can ask more questions later. Besides," he said, turning to Robin, "we're still waiting for you to tell us why you left Gotham. And what did Raven have to do with it?"

"Raven's right, sort of. She did come to Gotham, I guess because she thought that of everyone on earth, Batman might understand her and what she brought with her. She was probably right. Actually," he said looking at her with a curious smile, "neither of you ever told me what you talked about that first night, but I'll bet you told him about Trigon and everything. Didn't you?" Raven looked away and didn't answer.

"Anyway, we all decided that it would be better for Raven to utilize her powers elsewhere, somewhere the villains were more dangerous. Gotham's a handful," and Robin smiled wanly, "but it doesn't have nearly as many mutants, monsters, and mad scientists. Most of the bad guys are your basic robbers and thugs who work for criminal masterminds, and Batman could deal with them all by himself. But Jump City was in pretty desperate need of help at that point. And Batman said," here Robin took a breath of mixed pride and pain, "that I was ready to go out on my own. So we left to use our abilities in a city that needed us, and we ran into the rest of you, and the Titans happened. And I've only been Robin ever since."

"Indeed, you have, young man," came a soft voice from behind. The Titans turned to see Batman, the other Robin, and an elderly gentleman standing near. It was he who had spoken. Robin smiled shyly. Alfred had a special place in his heart, too. Whenever he had been on the rocks with his adoptive father, Alfred had been there, a gentle, supportive presence and friend.

"Titans, please allow me to introduce…my family." He nervously moved to stand with them. "This is Alfred Pennyworth, confidant of our secrets and caretaker of the Batcave, along with the manor above. He also takes good care of all of us, even through the crazy things we do in this job." Robin spoke proudly, but those who knew him well could see that he was trying hard to control his own emotions.

"I am very pleased to make your acquaintances. I recognize you all, of course," Alfred said kindly. He stepped briskly forward to shake their hands. "Master Cyborg, what a firm grip you have, a fine man! And Master Beast Boy, cleverest of the Titans so I hear," which caused Beast Boy to stammer and wiggle a metaphysical tail. "Miss Starfire, you are lovelier than even the wildest rumors dare approach." Starfire blushed deeply and threw a smile to Robin. "And my dear Miss Raven," Alfred said, offering her a hand which she took delicately, "it is a sincere pleasure to see you again. I do hope you will be with us for longer this time, young lady." Raven smiled wearily, impassive coldness melting from her face at Alfred's teasingly chiding warmth.

"And you, young master," Alfred said, turning finally to Robin, "have been gone far too long for my taste. I must admit, I am glad to see you once again, sir." Alfred put a hand on Robin's shoulder and smiled, his whole face alight with concealed yet genuine affection. The boy leaned into the touch for a moment, a charmed, child-like grin spread across his cheeks. Then he turned back to his friends.

"And this is Batman." Robin turned to make sure that revealing their secret was all right, just in time to see Batman tugging at his mask, "who is also known as Bruce Wayne, one of the wealthiest men in the world and my adoptive father." With the mask gone, the strong lines of Batman's face flowed into the more open visage of Bruce Wayne.

"Welcome to Gotham," Bruce said, nodding. The hard edge was still behind the voice, but somehow the heartlessness was gone. Beast Boy started wondering if maybe Batman did have a special power: the ability to go from being all hardcore and tough to being a regular guy just by putting on or taking off his suit. It was certainly an unexpected switch! No wonder no one ever guessed the secret identity; they were two completely different personas.

"And this," Bruce said, gesturing to the other Robin, "is my other ward, Tim Drake." At this, the other Robin took off his mask. Beneath it, Tim had brown eyes and was indeed much younger than the rest of the Titans. His costume was somewhat different from the original Robin's, lacking the green coloring that blazed across his predecessor's uniform. The red and yellow and black alone seemed to suit him as it wouldn't the Titan's Robin, but the identical "R" on his chest was unmistakable. Tim stared at the older Robin, trying to smile. The boy looked rather intimidated.

"Oh, greetings, smaller version of Robin!" shouted Starfire, unable to keep her excitement at bay any longer. Before anyone could warn him, the alien had swept Tim off his feet for an enormous bear-hug in exuberant affection. "It is wonderful to know that there are more Robins than one on the earth to help with the victorious over-coming of evil-doers! I feel as though I have found a new friend, as dear as my old friend, but new!"

"Er…umph…nice to meet you, too," gasped Tim, eyes bulging at the force of the embrace.

That did it. The tension of a formal homecoming broke as the Titans, Alfred, and even Bruce started to laugh. Starfire was oblivious as she squeezed the younger boy wonder, who was now blue and gasping for air. Eventually Cyborg coaxed her to set him down, but even then she hovered near, staring at the new Robin with the same delight reserved for "fascinating" earth rituals and objects. The Titan's Robin shook his head. Thank goodness for Starfire. Somehow she had just made what he was about to do so much easier.

"And now it's my turn," the Titan's leader announced, not a tremble in his voice, although his heart quavered slightly. As the team turned to him in shock, Robin took off his mask for the first time in their presence. Without it, his face looked younger somehow, and his eyes were startlingly blue. In a very un-Robin-like way, he fidgeted with the mask between his fingers, feeling almost naked without it. He shook his head once, as though shaking off a mantle, and looked up, unconsciously straightening his shoulders. When he smiled, tentative as it was, the smile spread all the way to his eyes. It felt good to do this at long last. It felt right. The Titans were his family too, now.

"My real name is Dick Grayson. Welcome to my home."

 

-==OOO==-

 

After the clamor died down, Dick walked into the cave alone with Starfire. He had some explaining to do, especially to her, and he figured he had better do it quickly, and away from the others before he lost his nerve. Cyborg made his way over to the lab to fiddle with the gadgets on the workbench. Raven remained on the bed, a strange look on her face as she stared blankly into the dark upper reaches of the cave. Ignoring what Batman and company were doing, Beast Boy moved closer to her.

"Uh, Raven?" Beast Boy asked hesitantly. Raven looked at him. The changeling had rarely seen her face so closed before. He was suddenly not sure why he felt the need to talk to her, but it was too late to back down.

"What is it?"

"Why…why did you do that?" At her wondering raised eyebrow, Beast Boy explained, "back on that roof. You could have gotten out of the way, but instead you pushed me away. Why?"

Raven closed her eyes for a moment, and this time Beast Boy was sure he saw something flicker across her face. But whether it was pain or fear or something worse, he couldn't tell.

"Because I couldn't risk you getting pulled in," she finally answered.

"Why not?"

"Because," and now an edge entered her voice, "I could sense what he was. I knew that if you went into him, he would take you with him and you couldn't do anything to stop it. I knew that you wouldn't be able to fight him. And I thought that maybe I could."

"How did you know that would happen, though?" Beast Boy asked dubiously. Raven's eyes were suddenly hard and glinted strangely.

"Because when you fly within my soul-self, it's the same thing. I can pick you up and put you down anywhere I want to go and once you're inside me, you don't have any choices. You don't even realize the time you're there. I could hold you forever and you would never know it. And you could never stop it." Raven's voice died to a near whisper. Beast Boy had to enhance his hearing with his animal abilities to hear her say, "I'm just like him."

"No, you're nothing like him!" Beast Boy protested loudly. Raven looked up, caught somewhere between self-loathing and astonished shame, her expression diluted by self-control, yet wild with suppressed emotion. Beast Boy went on, "You couldn't be! You would never hurt anybody, or use your powers that way. Maybe you can do similar things, but you're nothing like he is. I'm sure of it. You're good and always will be. Robin trusts you, and so do I. Just because you're dark doesn't make you evil. I don't think you could ever be anything but good." Suddenly the changeling flushed; he had the urge to turn into a mouse and creep away under Raven's eyes. He couldn't tell if he had hurt her or made her feel better, but either way, her face was closed again. He slumped, his ears quite red. Why had he said all that? Why had he even bothered to open his mouth at all?

"Perhaps, Raven," said a voice behind them, interrupting a stunned and embarrassed silence, "you would like to go up to the room we've prepared for you, to meditate." Bruce, now dressed in something other than rubber, wore a suit and tie that looked expensive. He kept sneaking up on them and Beast Boy didn't like it. "I believe after your experience you will want some time to yourself."

Raven nodded, and out of nowhere Alfred appeared. Without a word, he held his hand up to her, and to Beast Boy's surprise, she accepted the hand down from the infirmary bed. Raven never let anybody hold her hand, let alone twice in ten minutes! After Alfred escorted her off around a corner, Beast Boy turned to look back at Batman.

"What about me?" he found himself asking. "What should I do now? Robin and Star are, um, talking, I think" he hedged. "Cyborg's going to mess with electronic…stuff over there, and Raven's off to zen-land. What do you want me to do?"

To his surprise, Bruce smiled. Like Dick, it transformed his face into one open and caring, and years younger, even if there floated an edge behind the smile. Beast Boy felt sure that Batman would always be hovering somewhere in Bruce Wayne's face.

"Well, there's always the game room…"


	4. Conflict Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I don't own anybody in this story, just the tale itself.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Raven floated in lotus position, her words echoing over and over in the silent room. As she regained control over her emotions, she settled into the quiet place in her mind where she could dissect and deal with everything dampening or hindering her inner sanctuary.

Ebon, first and foremost in her mind. The approach to Gotham had warned Raven that she was going to face something very evil. Her empathic senses had blared at her even before leaving the T-Ship: something wicked was waiting out there. Very few times had Raven been so shaken by what she sensed. Ebon was mortal, but he reminded her strikingly of her father. Trigon had had different abilities, but both Trigon and Ebon were built of evil and had the ability to use that evil to transcend the rules of space and time. So did she, truth forced Raven to admit to herself. A deep ripple inside surged as her sense of guilt and shame and fear returned.

"You're nothing like he is," whispered into her meditation. Beast Boy. He believed in her. It restored some of her control to think of that, and she tried to rationalize the calming effect of the annoying Titan. His friendliness and comfort had done much to allay her fears in the Batcave. As much as anyone could do for her, anyway. Internally, she knew that Beast Boy understood what it was like to fear the dark part within. He had a monster to control, too. That similarity must have given her solace. Deep down, Raven was aware that she and Beast Boy were very alike, little though they admitted it. But she had much more difficult things to deal with for the moment.

The experience within Ebon had been physically exhausting, not to mention abjectly terrifying. Raven had been right; Beast Boy could never have escaped had he been pulled in. But Ebon, for all his intelligence, had not known how like himself Raven was, and thus had not anticipated her resistance; he had probably just wanted to grab her since she had threatened and thwarted him. When Raven was finally drawn in, she had held herself tightly within her own power, her soul-self allowing her to remain separate from Ebon. Instead of serving as a portal from one place to another, the Metabreed leader was forced to try to deal with Raven directly inside himself. It had become a battle of wills.

Ebon, when he was between dimensions and therefore at his strongest, apparently possessed some basic psychic abilities, which Raven had not anticipated. He had tried to coerce her into joining him with his mind, not counting on her incredibly stubborn nature. It was only with an effort of desperate strength, and Ebon's surprise at her defiance, that she had pulled herself away from his mind at all and remained in control of herself. But she couldn't deny that a part of her body and blood wanted to give in, wanted to go along with Ebon. She clenched her teeth against her demonic impulses and fought against that longing that echoed inside even now.

The memory of the darkness, the pull of his vortex on Raven's demonic half, stirred fear and shame and panic in her molten core again. Everything Ebon was, the manipulative, dangerous, calculating being, she could become at any time if she lost control. Something about Ebon made her demonic-half frantic with wanting to break loose. Maybe it was that their powers were so similar. Maybe it was that he would have used her knowledge and her abilities exactly as her father had. But whatever the reason, Ebon nudged Raven's precarious emotional balance closer to tipping towards darkness. For a moment, Raven was just the scared little girl in her father's claws, a victim of his power and will forever. She shuddered and her mantra was interrupted momentarily. Something in the room broke.

"Steady," she ordered herself firmly. Raven would not let her fear drive her to lose control. Envisioning Azarath, she resumed her chanting, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Had she not been bound to Robin, Raven would never have escaped. Although she could travel between dimensions herself, it required incantations and preparations; without them, she remained in whatever space she existed. But Robin's mind had ventured after her into Ebon and given her a much-needed guide, as she had no way of finding the path "back" to the real world without it. How had he known to call her? Raven knew that ever since she reached into his mind, they had been bound. Just as she bonded with every object she levitated, so she became a part of every soul she read or joined. As an empath, it was hard enough not to fling herself into every person who shouted their emotions at her. But with Robin it was far more complicated. The Titan leader was aware of the bond, and out of a sense of friendship, often used it subconsciously to try to "read" her. It made it more difficult to keep herself and her feelings away from his ever-seeking mind. And while it helped to know exactly what Robin intended to do in a battle and have the ability to respond in kind, it was not an awareness she would normally have chosen, even if it had saved her this time.

Carefully she attempted to examine and dismiss the emotional baggage from the encounter. While her friends erroneously believed that she buried or bottled her emotions, Raven actually had enormous understanding of her feelings, and she knew better than to let things fester inside. The dark girl was all too aware that a suppressed fear or experience could disrupt her abilities at a critical moment. Finally, she felt once again in command of herself, although she could not shake off the chill of the whole encounter. It had left her doubting herself, and more than a little anxious about trying to fight Ebon again. For the first time since Trigon's defeat, Raven feared the demon within herself and what she could become if she ever dropped her guard against it. She was on edge, paranoid about her own dark nature. Ebon's mind and soul-self were slimy, disgusting really, and she knew no amount of meditation could wash away the feel of it, either.

"Joy washes away sorrow and laughter cleanses the spirit," the priestesses of Azar had said. Laughter. Raven almost snorted in her meditation. She so rarely allowed herself to laugh. There was too much wrong with her for her to find anything funny. Although sometimes Beast Boy came awfully close. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone. Laughing wasn't her thing.

Raven's mind prickled, and without even stopping her chant to probe outward, she knew Bruce Wayne had entered the room and was standing somewhere behind her. A flicker of annoyance danced through her mind, but she immediately quashed it; it was his house, after all. Of course he had the right to walk in on her. She released the rest of the meditation back to the deep part of her soul and opened her eyes, turning in the air.

"I did not mean to disturb you," Bruce began as the lithe girl gracefully dropped from the lotus position to stand on the floor. Raven let the hood fall from her face and looked up at him, eyes betraying little.

"Thank you, but I was nearly ready anyway. And I apologize for breaking your lamp," Raven answered in her quiet voice, gesturing to the shards on the floor, the evidence of her loss in concentration. She glanced at the clock; it had been several hours since she had retreated here.

"I thought something like that might happen, so I arranged that nothing in the room be irreplaceable." Raven knew he had prepared this space especially for her. Not only was it decorated in shades varying from deep blue and black to a dark purple, but it contained books and hangings in a language she knew, the language of Azarath. Raven wondered where on earth Batman had found such books, if he had found them on earth at all. She nodded to indicate she had heard him.

"I would like to speak with you a moment, Raven." It was not a request, and his tone changed completely when he said it, from genial to intense. "I need to know what has happened, if anything has changed. What of the prophecy that you carry with you? Are you still a danger?" His voice was not quite menacing, but it certainly tinged with warning.

"It…has been averted," Raven said, proud that she was able to suppress a shudder at the memory, maintaining her aloof exterior. "Trigon did rise, and he did turn all life to stone, but the Teen Titans remained alive and fought him. They were able to bring me back to fight, even after I was used as his portal. I defeated him and restored all he had done to the world. You would not remember anything of what happened, as I was only able to protect the Titans from his curse," she said looking up at him. She kept her face closed.

"Then your future is uncertain, but is no longer bound to evil, correct? And yet you remain reclusive and apart. You still fear your own nature. Why? If there is another, similar threat to the earth, I believe I deserve the right to know. Is there more that may come from you?"

"There are always threats to the earth. My father is gone and I am free of him. There may be others who would come after him; there are many demons in other dimensions, some at least as powerful. I do not know if any will be tied directly to me," Raven replied in what she knew was her stiffest way. She did not take kindly to being blamed for more than one apocalyptic scenario in the same conversation.

"Then why do you remain apart?" Bruce pushed. Raven recoiled, but answered, her voice bitter. Honesty broke through her barriers and she spat a hated truth.

"How do you know I will not be that threat myself? I carry his blood, his bane, and I always will." Something in the room began to shake as her powers lashed out in reaction to her emotional state. "If I ever lose control, I could very well become him, or even worse. And none of you could stop me."

"You are nothing like him," Bruce said, echoing what Beast Boy had said earlier. The changeling's face flashed through her mind and she relaxed slightly. People believed in her, and as long as Raven had that assurance, she could manage. She held her feelings in an unbreakable grip and tried to regain control.

"No, but I could be used again." She spoke the words with quietly-suppressed horror.

"By Ebon." Bruce's voice had gone cold.

"It's possible. If it weren't for Robin, I am not sure I could have resisted him. The next time, I might not." Raven spoke flatly. She found the memory of the abyss within Ebon's soul-self rising up before her eyes. She tried to clear the image.

"What can he do? I need to know." Bruce's face was stony and his eyes blazed. Raven could see how the Dark Knight could be very frightening indeed.

"If I were to lose myself in Ebon, it's possible he could assimilate my powers and my knowledge. We are too alike; we are a similar psychic frequency, and whoever was stronger could possess the weaker. Ebon's powers allow him to manipulate shadows according to his will, and I am shadow. If I lost myself, I would melt away in his unending darkness and all that I was would become his." Bruce's questioning was goading her fragile stability. Raven closed her eyes, control intact, but her imagination running wild. It was a sickening thought: Ebon, using her, could destroy the world, and she would be the portal to it, once again.

"We will not allow it. It's too dangerous for Gotham… and for you." Bruce's eyes glinted, and for a moment Raven saw the shadow of the Batman within him. Then he breathed deeply and held her eyes in his own. The ice had melted and there was a thaw in the lines of his face.

"I turned you away once before, Raven. I will not be so foolish again. You will be welcome to stay with me until we defeat Ebon, and for as long as you like afterwards." Although the words were said simply, Bruce's eyes were warmer now and Raven felt safe in his presence. He crossed the small distance between them and placed a hand on her shoulder. Raven generally hated uninvited touch from people; it allowed too many feelings through her mental barriers. However, in this case, it was genuine concern that radiated through the contact, and she was grateful for it and the stabilizing effect it had on her emotions.

"Come. Allow me to escort you to dinner. I took the liberty of leaving you some suitable attire," he said, gesturing at the tall wardrobe in the corner of the room.

"Thank you," she said, and she moved out from under his hand. Bruce shut the door to allow her the privacy to change, and Raven reluctantly dug through the thankfully-simple garments inside for something "suitable." As she pulled off her cloak to exchange it for whatever came to hand, she was struck with a sudden realization.

"I wonder if the reason he wants me to stay is because he is still afraid of me," she thought to herself. "He sent me away from Gotham the first time because he was afraid of my destiny and the destruction he thought I would bring. He couldn't let me stay here because he didn't want to risk his precious city, even though he didn't seem to care about sending Robin with me. He feared me for himself, for what I represented. But now it seems like he wants me here, where he can watch me, just in case. I wonder if that is for my protection… or his? Or even Robin's?"

"Although," she considered, yanking dark cloth over her head, "there was also affection in his touch along with worry for my sake. Could it be that he wants to make up for leaving me to my fate before? Why should he care about me now? He certainly didn't before."

A familiar sense of angry betrayal rose in her heart again, but with years of discipline, Raven called her emotions to order before they could get out of hand. At least her emotions with regards to other people were easier to keep in check than her fears about herself. She tried to force indifference.

"What does it matter if he sent me away? It's not like I ever asked him to worry about me. He's just like everybody else was, everybody who feared me. Everybody but the Titans. Why should I care what he thinks or wants?" She settled her face and moved to open the door. The man waiting outside did not matter. Raven tried not to care about him his fear and doubt, or his motives.

But somewhere, deep down, Raven did care.

 

-==OOO==-

 

Beast Boy LOVED Wayne Manor. He never wanted to leave!

When Bruce had told Beast Boy to follow Tim to "the game room," Beast Boy had been expecting some out-of-the-way bedroom with maybe a foosball table, and a TV set-up for video games. What he found was actually a suite within the manor entirely devoted to adolescent fun. There was the video-game room filled with couches, chairs, and other assorted soft squishy things to sit on. Every game ever created and every Gamestation system ever invented could be found here, along with cheat books and multi-player pads, not to mention a big-screen TV. There were also rooms devoted to arcade games that needed no quarters, a room which had been converted into a bumper-car arena, a room with a laser tag and paint-ball course, and an indoor gymnasium suited for everything from basketball to football to, with a few conversions, indoor hockey and ice skating. Beast Boy thought he had died and gone to heaven.

"Wha…dude…yeah…" Beast Boy muttered, his eyes the size of dinner-plates.

"It's pretty cool," Tim said smiling. Beast Boy turned to him.

"THIS IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE!" he shouted, bouncing excitedly in place until he accidentally changed into some kind of deranged hopping Chihuahua in his glee. Changing back, he grabbed Tim's arm and practically hauled him in to begin a video-game fest. The younger Robin laughed and followed light-heartedly.

As the hours passed, Beast Boy learned two things. First, he found that he liked Tim. It was still odd to be with a kid who was also Robin, albeit a very different kind of Robin; Tim was exceptionally intelligent, a bit on the stubborn and defensive side, but he seemed to have his heart in the right place. He showed Beast Boy everything, laughed at most of his jokes, and played any game Beast Boy chose. Tim wanted to please, and it became clear that the boy was hoping to be friends. Where there was no animosity, Beast Boy was happy to enjoy the peace and fun.

Second, Beast Boy learned that he was outclassed when it came to video games. He was good, but not nearly as good as Tim. The changeling had amazingly fast reflexes, but there seemed to be no end to how much Tim knew about beating each and every game through cheats or other maneuvers. So he lost a lot. Which was disheartening, although nothing new to Beast Boy, and it made those few times he won so much sweeter.

Every time Beast Boy ended victoriously, he did a triumphant dance across the room, sometimes bouncing into other animal shapes in his exuberant fun. Tim couldn't get enough of it and laughed and encouraged him, making those explosions even more elaborate. Beast Boy loved having an audience for his antics and played right along. One particular celebratory dance had been going on for more than fifteen minutes when another voice interrupted him.

"Beast Boy, I think you've found your soul-mate," Dick laughed as he entered with Starfire. The boy wonder was in slacks and a t-shirt, and without his mask, looked like any other amused teenager. Star, entranced by Beast Boy's unusually wild behavior, began immediately to copy him. While she couldn't transform into a bleating, tap-dancing sheep, she could imitate the sound Beast Boy was making and could crawl around on all fours. She laughed delightedly, commenting on "fun Earth celebrations." Tim and Dick looked at each other and a world of understanding passed between them in silence. Then they burst into hysterics.

Eventually, the four of them ended up piled in the center of the room on a particularly squishy cushion, laughing helplessly and innocently until they wept. For four young heroes who rarely let themselves act their age, it was an immense relief to be carefree and happy for even a little while, and the laughter was one of the healthiest things any of them had done in weeks. It was while they were in this state that Alfred entered and summoned them to dinner. As Starfire ran off to get changed and Beast Boy followed Alfred to see his room, Tim and Dick stood looking at each other in nearly-awkward silence, their recent laughter echoing in their ears.

"Some changes around here, I see," Dick finally said. He gestured to the new TV and some of the newer systems and games.

"Yep. The game room was in pretty good shape before, but Bruce told me I could add anything I wanted so… I hope you don't mind," Tim said nervously.

"No, I like it. All good ideas," Dick said nodding noncommittally. "I just…" He stopped unsure what to say next.

"Dick, I'm sorry," Tim suddenly burst out. The older boy looked down in surprise. "I didn't mean for things to change! See, I came here when I figured out who Batman was, and I tried to talk him into bringing you home. It wasn't the same in Gotham without you at Batman's side and I..." he ducked shyly, "you were my hero and I wanted you back. But he refused. No matter what I said, he told me that you had to find your own way. He was really stubborn about it."

"I can imagine," Dick said dryly. The younger boy rushed on.

"Then, when I lost my parents," here Tim gulped but went on bravely, "in a bank robbery, Bruce came for me. I'd been at the shelter a week and already hated it. He said that if I thought he needed a Robin so badly, that he would give me a chance to try for myself. I didn't know what to do, but I just couldn't say no. I wanted to be like you, I guess. He trains me all the time," Tim groaned, "and he's the strictest teacher I've ever had. But I've tried really hard to be as good as you are."

"You are. You're great," Dick said, meaning it. So here was Tim's story. A surge of kindred feelings rose in the young Titan; Dick knew exactly how Tim felt. Everything, from being orphaned to trying so hard to please Bruce Wayne, united them. They could have been brothers for how similar their lives were. With a start, Dick realized that Tim actually was his brother by their mutual, adopted father.

"Thanks, I guess. I still have a lot to learn, though. I'm not nearly as good as you. When I saw you tonight with Batman, it was incredible! It was the smoothest, the greatest fighting I've ever seen. I want to be just like that! And maybe someday I can go out on my own, too. I just want to protect people, so nobody ever has to lose their family like I lost mine." Tears stood in the boy's eyes, but his face was fierce.

"I know," Dick said, putting everything into those words, shaking his head internally at how very much they had in common. "Listen, it's a little weird with there being two of us, but as long as we're protecting innocent people, I think you and I can get along." Dick put a hand on Tim's shoulder and squeezed. He tried to look comfortable with the arrangement, but on some level, Dick still felt like he wasn't needed anymore; his father had a new son. Batman had a new Robin.

"I haven't really replaced you, you know," Tim said. His young face probed Dick's eyes, then continued shrewdly, as though he could read Dick's fears. "He still thinks about you all the time. I can tell. Whenever we get news about you from Jump City, he goes over it again and again, sometimes all night. And he has a picture of you in his bedroom; I've seen it. I think he misses you. I know he cares about me," he assured Dick hurriedly, "and he's told me to call him 'father,' but I know that you're still his son, too. He's a good man and he cares about you a lot. It's funny how easy it is for him to love you until you're his sidekick. Then he's all hard on you, until you pass some kind of mark. And you passed it, I guess. I don't think he's going to be hard with you anymore, once he figures out how to stop," Tim said reflectively.

"Thanks," mumbled Dick. He had no idea what to say. There was a lump in his throat and his heart was hammering. His father missed him? Was proud of him, even? Bruce Wayne had been a father in all the ways that counted for years, and affection, so rare from his mentor, still meant so much. Dick's heart so wanted to hear those words from him directly. Slowly he collected himself and tried to smile at Tim.

"Thanks for telling me this. We'll be okay. Now," he said taking a deep breath, a more familiar twinkle in his eye, "we'd better both move fast or we'll be late, and I know Bruce's distaste for tardiness hasn't changed!"

 

-==OOO==-

 

Elsewhere, in a darkened building miles away, a shadow roiled in frustration.

"Cut it out, Ebon," Talon snapped at the living void, as she gingerly wrapped a place on her leg that had been singed by a starbolt. "You're makin' me nervous."

"Yeah, what's up with you, man?" Hotstreak said, absently snapping his fingers and igniting a flame only to douse it again. "Somethin' eatin' you?"

"I've never seen anything like that girl. I've got to find a way to bind her powers long enough to absorb them. She could make me stronger than anybody in the world. Somehow, I'm going to control her and take everything she's got. Then I'll be unstoppable!"

"How're you gonna do that?" Talon asked scathingly. "We're outnumbered here, Ebon. Gotham was easy when it was just Bats, but now with the Teen Morons out there, it's worse than Dakota. We barely made it out! How're you gonna absorb anythin' if we're in jail?"

"Speak for yourself!" Hotstreak said, eyes blazing. "I can handle those punks, even if you can't."

"Three on seven odds ain't good, Hotstreak, even in your deluded world," Talon replied, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up!"

"Quiet! She's right," Ebon said, rising up between them and menacing the simmering Hotstreak. "The three of us alone aren't enough to beat them. New plan. If I'm gonna get that girl, I need more time to work on her, and you two need not to get your butts kicked by the Teeny Titans. For that, we gotta find some backup." He began to slide into the shadows again, teleporting himself to another place.

"Where ya going?" Hotstreak shouted to the retreating darkness.

"To get a ringer. Someone the Titans can play with while I'm busy."


	5. Learning to See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legal stuff: blah blah blah I don't own the Teen Titans or anybody else in this story blah blah blah.
> 
> That should cover it.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Titans, go!"

Spreading out in their standard attack pattern, the Titans raced to deal with threats that seemed to come from every side. Robin leapt forward to handle some of the robots armed with blasters. Starfire moved into the air to aim starbolts at the robots and the gun-turrets blocking the team's route. Cyborg took up a stationary position at the rear, using his beam-cannon for cover, then running ahead to clear a path with sheer brute force. Raven, from a higher altitude, provided shielding against the various laser and cannon turrets, and generally kept her teammates from being hit, along with removing robots from the immediate vicinity whenever she had a chance. Beast Boy, through his rapidly-changing shapes, lent his aid wherever it seemed necessary.

"Dude, how many robots has this guy got?" the changeling shouted before he took to the air in eagle-form and dropped on yet another automated foe, smashing it with gorilla force.

"Lots," Robin said between breaths as he levied another kick on the robot he was trying to dismantle the hard way. "Keep your heads up!"

"I see the target," Starfire shouted. Angling down, she floated between Robin and Cyborg and gestured to a bright green computer chip floating in a beam beyond yet more towers and guards. She and Robin were immediately beset by yet more robots and distracted from their aim.

"I got it!" Beast Boy shouted, before turning into a ram and clearing a path through the barricades and debris in his way.

"No, I got it!" Cyborg reacted, jumping over the nearest gun-turret and landing beside the ram. He seemed to "accidentally" bop the green creature on the head, almost running him off-course and into a wall. Beast Boy immediately changed to an octopus and wrapped his tentacles around the bionic Titan, holding him in place. Cyborg struggled, but the green Titan refused to release him.

"Hey, let me go! No fair! …Aagh!" Cyborg shouted. A robot had come from behind and took aim to shoot them both. As the embattled pair shouted and ducked, a wave of black light swept the robot into a nearby embankment and smashed it to bits. The two looked up in surprise.

"Boys…" Raven sighed, landing lightly in front of them. She reached into the beam and pulled out the chip. All the rest of the robots and gunners deactivated, and a familiar voice echoed across the arena.

"Well done, Titans." A door slid open behind Raven, and the billionaire behind their exercise stepped in. "I'm very impressed. Your teamwork is impeccable. Well…nearly impeccable," he said, gesturing to a small war happening off to the side.

"Dude, I totally had it! If you hadn't gotten in my way…" Beast Boy shouted, returning to himself and getting in Cyborg's face.

"Who're you kidding, Gumby? There's no way you were gonna beat me to it!" Cyborg returned. Beast Boy's ears flicked up angrily at the "Gumby" comment.

"You got in my way just so you could get it first! That's cheating!"

"Hey, tofu-eater, you're the one that got in MY way! I was so going to get there first!"

"I believe you are both wrong," Starfire said, smiling innocently at them. "It was Raven who made it to the target first. Although I was under the impression this was a test of the working as a team, not a race to be first."

"Yeah, good job, Raven," Robin said, smiling at the dark empath.

"Thanks."

"Now that you've finished the joint-course," Bruce said, trying to speak over the shouts of Beast Boy and Cyborg who were continuing to argue, "I'd like to see each of you in the individual course. If you're up to it, that is…" he said, a wry challenge in his voice.

"Of course we're up to it!" Robin said. "And I'll go first."

 

-==OOO==-

 

The last few days at Wayne Manor had been surreal. Since the Titans really couldn't wander around Gotham with Bruce, which would raise suspicions when they were later seen with Batman, they had spent little time in the city itself. Gotham was pretty gloomy compared to Jump City, and Dick was most at home at the estate anyway, so no one really felt that staying around the manor was a big loss. Although Tim had to attend school during the day, the other Titans managed to "console" themselves without him by having massive Gamestation tournaments, playing any sport they wanted, and exploring the countless rooms and corners of the enormous mansion. It was only this morning over breakfast that Bruce had reminded everyone of the training facility below. He wanted to see them in action and thought it was about time they all test themselves again, demonstrating the source of Robin's crazy intensity when it came to practice. This, among other things, he had learned from the Bat himself: training saves lives.

As Beast Boy watched Robin prepare for his first run at the individual course, he felt a bit of jealousy was through his green body. The course wasn't easy, but surely the ex-Batman sidekick would have an advantage; it was geared to someone with his particular skills, and none of the other Titans could quite match Robin's abilities. And the team already knew that Tim held the highest score ever on the simulation. Up in the control tower, Bruce leaned into the loudspeaker's microphone to give Robin the rules of the game.

"This is a new course, Robin, so don't expect anything familiar. There are two different objectives. The first is to reach the end of the maze," and at this, the empty 50-yard long space noisily converted itself into a labyrinth of dead-ends, blind turns, and traps, "and deactivate the panel." A large square button illuminated in green waited at the opposite end.

"The second objective is to score as many points as possible by taking out the targets, which will be illuminated in blue." From their vantage-point, Beast Boy could see what looked like little bulls-eyes light up across the maze. "Along with the targets, you will amass points both for enemies deactivated or disabled and for time efficiency. You will lose points for any 'hits' scored on you." The large digital clock lit up over the arena along with the tally-board. "And of course," Bruce said, looking at the other young heroes in the tower with him, "the maze will change for each of your runs, so going first isn't a disadvantage. It will be all new for each of you."

"This technology is amazing!" Cyborg said, looking at all the various panels and devices that apparently controlled the set-up below. "How do you get the lasers to be so keenly attuned to a person's biometrics that you know where and when the hit was scored?"

"We can go into that later. Now, Robin, when you are ready, step into the maze and the clock will begin," Bruce said. Robin, confident as always, grinned at the team above, gave an eager thumbs-up, and ventured into the maze.

In some ways, this was a far greater challenge than the group arena had been. The team course had been designed to allow multiple people room to fight in tandem; this was narrow and intended to confine an individual. The twisting avenues of the maze meant a person could go a long way down a wrong-turn before having to go back over dangerous ground to start again. As Robin made his way through the trial, he encountered everything from robots armed with lasers to holograms to false walls. Of course, nothing in the arena could actually hurt him; the lasers were bright but not dangerous and the rounds were blanks since nobody wanted to get killed while training.

Beast Boy, bored by the boy wonder's success, sighed and looked around the tower at his friends. Bruce was nodding to himself as he watched his adopted son master the course. Cyborg was apparently looking for tips on how to beat the system, whenever he wasn't wide-eyed at some technological innovation. Starfire's smile was radiant and she often shouted "Glorious!" as she watched Robin conquer one section after another.

Beast Boy's shoulders sank. He wished somebody were that excited about him. The beautiful alien had only had eyes for Robin since the first day they met, which wasn't so bad since Starfire wasn't really Beast Boy's type anyway. But ever since Terra, the changeling had felt kind of lonely. His search in Tokyo for a girl had been born of wanting something like what his teammates shared, although maybe not so sappy. Starfire and Robin were like the prince and princess of legend; the lovely innocent lady and the white knight. Not his thing.

Turning away from Robin's well-meaning redheaded cheerleader, Beast Boy was surprised by Raven's face. Her normally cool expression was turned towards Robin with an animated look of…admiration? Beast Boy felt his jaw fall out of his face. Raven was actually impressed by Robin's hopping around like some kind of monkey while he kicked robots to bits? Oblivious to Robin's run in the course, Beast Boy found himself fascinated by Raven's reaction.

"No way," he thought to himself staunchly, "there's no way she's got a thing for him, too. Not Raven AND Starfire. Not again! That's unfair! I know girls dig the cape, but still! Raven? He's WAY to serious for her! She needs somebody more like…" But he felt a sudden flush in his face and decided to try not to pursue that line of thinking anymore.

-==OOO==-

 

Raven watched as Robin navigated the individual course with an interesting mix of dispassionate approval for his skills and telepathic adrenaline at what she sensed from him. It was a constant problem in the Tower whenever the team was training, but her psychic awareness was far more acute with Robin because of their link. Generally, Raven was able to tune him out eventually, either by meditating or by increasing the physical distance between them, but now she felt herself being drawn in to his energy and enthusiasm. She could feel the bond between them deepen as his battle-senses and his excitement brought an instinctive heightened awareness into play. For an unguarded moment, Raven was right with him in the maze, seeing through his eyes as he launched a birdarang at a target while in the middle of a flying kick at a robot, feeling the exhilaration of the challenge. There was no denying Robin's incredible dexterity, agility, and a seeming ability to defy gravity. But what always caught Raven off-guard was the thoughtlessness of his style: Robin would throw himself off a height and figure out how to land on the way down. It was daring, and innovative, but also detached from all fear, locked in a running analysis of the next move. It was a fascinating interplay between joy and logic, and Raven found herself experiencing it with him. It was with a rush as keen as pain that it all came to an end.

"Well done," Bruce called into the mic as the slightly-winded Robin made his way from the exit up the steps to the control tower. The scoreboard next to the time-clock flashed "Robin (DG) – 243 points – new record, safety test" and the boy wonder punched the air in triumph. Below his score floated a "Robin (TD) – 237 points – high score, safety test."

"Booyah!" shouted Cyborg, clapping the Titan's leader on the back as he entered the tower. "New record! Way to go, Rob!"

"Yes, it was glorious! You are amazing, Robin! It was wonderful to watch you in the kicking of the butt!" Starfire shouted, bouncing and throwing her arms around him. Of all the Titans, Starfire experienced pure and unadulterated happiness on behalf of her friends the most freely, and the most exuberantly. Robin blushed.

"I just did my best." He said it softly, but his eyes moved to Bruce's and he held his head with proud dignity.

"Well done indeed, Dick," Bruce said, nodding in approval. "That was an impressive mix. You have a very well-balanced style: flexible, yet focused. You have certainly improved these last three years." Robin smiled at the normally-stoic man over Starfire's head as she continued to hug him joyously.

"Thank you…father." The look that passed between them spoke more than words.

"Now, who's next?" Bruce said, breaking the moment and turning to the other Titans.

"I guess it's my turn," Cyborg announced. "I'm gonna whip your butt, there, bird-boy!"

"Yeah, we'll see," Robin retorted.

 

-==OOO==-

 

Cyborg's run was different, not only because his fighting style was so unlike Robin's, but because the maze had adjusted itself again. Watching the bionic Titan steadily conquer the course, Beast Boy felt his attention wavering again and again, refocusing on Raven. She seemed completely unaware of Robin and Starfire's not-so-subtle reactions to each other; if she did have a thing for Robin, she was good at ignoring them and their together-ness. Her face had returned to its normal impassive expression. There was no spark of interest for Cyborg's run as there had been for Robin, either.

"I wonder if she'll be interested for my turn the way she was for Robin's," he found himself thinking idly, a warmth spreading inside. "But it's not like I…she…" Beast Boy's heart suddenly bounced in his chest. Did he have a crush on Raven? The ice princess herself? No way!

"But she's not an ice princess," a part of the changeling's mind was saying, "she's warm inside. She just keeps it all hidden. Raven's the most vulnerable of us all because she's the most alone, so she just can't let herself be warm."

"No, nope, not going there," he argued with himself. "Had a thing for Terra and that one sure back-fired. Let's just stick with all the ladies who laugh at my jokes."

"Okay, one, there really aren't 'ladies' clamoring after me, and two, who cares if she laughs at my jokes? Isn't it everything she doesn't say far more important? Besides, she does think I'm funny. Her happy side told me so. She just hides it. So that means…"

He cut that thought off at the pass before it got away from him. Beast Boy had no idea what had happened to the part of his brain that seemed to be defending this impossible idea, this absurd thing about having feelings for Raven, but he wanted it to stop. It was like an itch you can't reach: the more you think about it, the worse it itches until you go crazy trying to scratch it. He had no idea when the itch had begun, but it didn't matter. Scratching it wasn't working.

"I'll just ignore it. I'll just ignore her. And then it'll all go away…"

 

-==OOO==-

 

Cyborg's run came to an end, scoring in at 233. He had hit more targets than either Robin before him, but had taken longer to reach the end, largely because it was no easy thing to muscle around a dozen robots at a time. Jubilant with his own success, though, he gave Beast Boy a noogie as soon as he entered the control tower.

"Beat that, ya grass-stain!"

"I will, you'll see" Beast Boy shouted, trying to get out from under the fist of his buddy.

"Not that I wouldn't love to see you two boys 'duke it out,' but if you don't mind, I think I'll take my turn now," Raven said out of nowhere. She was beginning to feel restless. Robin's run had gotten her energy flowing, and being around him and Starfire as they stood together in companionable, more-than-friends discussion was getting on her nerves. It was as good a time as any to try the run and release some of the pent-up things on her mind.

 

-==OOO==-

 

Okay, the whole "ignoring Raven" bit was definitely not working. Beast Boy had to admit that little itch was really starting to tickle. Watching her run the course, reacting to different scenarios, Beast Boy realized that his animalistic powers allowed him to read Raven's body-language as clearly as he could hear Starfire shout. Animals didn't communicate in words but in things unspoken, and those same things were clear "tells" of the dark girl. If her shoulders twitched, if she squinted momentarily, if she moved a hand, he knew what she meant by it. It was no different than reading the birds of the air or fish or any other animal he had ever known. With a start, Beast Boy recognized he had probably been reading her body-language and understated facial expressions for years without ever being aware of it. And now that he knew he was doing it, he couldn't stop himself.

Beast Boy was bewildered. Why on earth was he suddenly so interested in Raven? Where did it come from? He felt his ears color with a surge of something too scary to identify and tried periodically to look anywhere but the arena. But even with his eyes averted, he could not help his train of thought, which seemed parked at the "Raven" station for the moment. And, now that it was her turn against the course, he didn't have any excuse not to stare at her. As Raven continued her run, Beast Boy started finding his mind wandering to the oddest places.

"Wow, you know, Raven's really graceful. I mean, Starfire's gorgeous and all, but Raven's got this kind of delicate, strong grace I've never seen before…"

"Geez, that was a smart move, using her power like that. She really thinks fast on her feet, I mean, even when she's floating…"

"It's funny the way her power actually lights up her face. She looks happy when she's using it, and she looks brighter somehow, too…"

"I wonder what 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos' really means, anyway. She's so smart about languages and stuff…"

"…I'm really in trouble, aren't I?"

When her turn was over, everyone was surprised to see the scoreboard rate her at 239, higher even than Tim's best, second only to Dick himself. Reentering the tower, blushing slightly at the outpouring of congratulations, Raven shrugged, her eyes bright at the exercise. Her hood had fallen off during the course and she seemed content to let it lie for once. Therefore, Beast Boy had an uninhibited view of her face. Her stoic expression could not hide the tiniest curve of her mouth, a nearly-invisible smile.

"Well done, Raven. Yours is the fastest time of all by a significant margin, although you didn't hit as many targets as the others," Bruce noted after the much louder praise of her teammates.

"I know. But I prefer to achieve my goals directly, rather than waste my energy with 'style-points.' It's not about flair, it's about efficiency." Her voice had its usual sardonic edge, but Beast Boy, listening closely, now heard something else behind her sharp remark. Defensiveness? Could Raven be embarrassed that she was not as flashy a fighter as Robin? It sure sounded like it.

"A very effective means of fighting," Bruce nodded.

"May I now take a turn at the course of individuals?" Starfire spoke up. Her bright green eyes were shining. "Friend Raven has scored so well. I wish to try my own skills of battle in comparison."

"Go for it, Star!" Robin said brightly.

"I'm sure you'll do great," Raven said, miffed as Starfire hugged her. Cyborg said something encouraging to her, but Beast Boy missed it because he was once again looking at Raven, squirming after the hug.

"She's beautiful. It's a secret beauty, but she really is beautiful…Oh, man! What am I doing?"

 

-==OOO==-

 

Starfire's run was uneventful as far as Beast Boy was concerned. She scored 235, being slightly faster than Cyborg, but she got tangled once or twice when she tried to do too much at once and missed some targets. Not that he'd paid any attention whatsoever; Beast Boy only sat studying the tiny bit of Raven he could see out of the corner of his eye and trying to talk himself out of the frightening feeling that made his blood pulse faster.

However, it wasn't long before Starfire returned to the tower, breaking his contemplation of the mage and his own reaction to her. Robin gave the alien princess a congratulatory hug when she came up, and the she seemed as pleased with her own performance as she had been for everyone else; generosity of spirit was one of Starfire's greatest strengths.

"Glorious! Such challenge, such fun! I only wish all battles were so enjoyable!"

"Indeed," Bruce said wryly. "With the safeties on, you can stretch yourselves without risk, and it becomes a good test for you at your best. Of course, in the real world, there are no safeties and every hit doesn't just lose you points, but could mean your life."

"Do you ever run it without the safeties?" Raven asked.

"Yes," Bruce said, "but only when I train myself. When the bullets and lasers are live, it's a very different experience. The whole dynamic of the course changes. And, there are a couple of additional challenges that get added in, some more advanced simulations. But I think we'll wait before we try any of you without the safeties on."

"How do you turn them off?" Beast Boy found himself asking. Something had popped into his head, something really dumb. All this thinking about Raven had him suddenly wanting to prove himself to be better even than Robin. The original boy wonder had garnered so much of Raven's attention on his run, and without knowing entirely why, Beast Boy wanted that for himself. Impulsively, he was willing to take a few risks if it meant that Raven might see him as she did Robin. It was probably some kind of stupid guy thing, but it was a very seductive idea, and it could be so cool!

"There's a manual override down below that controls it," Bruce answered, as Cyborg and Robin suddenly began peppering him with questions about the specs of the training arena, probably to update the one at the Tower. Beast Boy listened for a couple of minutes before he made up his mind. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

"My turn!" Beast Boy announced cheerfully. Cyborg and Robin stopped their discussion with Batman to wish him luck, and to give him grief, and Starfire gave him a happy hug. He stole a glance at Raven; she appeared to be ignoring him as always. "Not for long," the changeling thought to himself.

 

-==OOO==-

 

As Beast Boy took longer than the others to enter the arena, Raven closed her eyes. Centering herself, she sought out the unusual emotions that had tickled her mind only a few moments before by sorting out those that were familiar, or at least not unexpected. Robin's emotions were predictable, anyway: pride for himself and his team, nervousness yet a sense of contentment to be around his father, and a strong sense of embarrassed affection for Starfire. Cyborg was happy for the team but a little disappointed in his own showing on the course, and was absolutely taken with the technology, his enthusiasm permeating his every question. Starfire's emotions were pretty simple: happy with her own performance, happy with Robin, happy with everything. Raven almost snorted; Starfire was always so happy! She moved on. Bruce's feelings were the most complex and took the most time to analyze in full: pride in his son, intent focus on the team's abilities, and, deep down, affection for all of them, mixed in with some anxiety as well as detached approval for the simulator, the team, and a host of other things. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and she could not identify anything that could have caused that ripple she had sensed earlier. Raven would have tried a deeper analysis, but as Beast Boy began his turn at last, she was suddenly distracted. All thoughts of the emotional disturbance she sought flew out of her conscious memory even as they tugged lightly at her self-control.

Immediately, Raven knew something was different about this run. Beast Boy had rarely looked so focused before; his changes between animals were flawless and his choices in which animal-strengths to bring were exceptional. But he didn't seem to be reacting with the same confidence the others had. She sensed greater trepidation in him than she had in the others, as though he were acutely afraid on some level. Something was not right. While the other Titans cheered, Raven found herself sidling up to Bruce. Raven glanced at the man, whose eyes were narrowed and his jaw set.

"What is it?" she asked in an undertone, fearing suddenly that she knew the answer already.

"Something's wrong; the system isn't reacting as it should." He spoke quietly, but his deep voice carried.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, turning swiftly to his father.

"I believe Beast Boy has disengaged the safeties and the run is now live. And deadly," Bruce said darkly, fingers furiously flicking over the console.

"WHAT?"


	6. The Things We Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Uh. Hi! *Waves awkwardly*
> 
> Anybody remember this story? Well, I never forgot it; it's haunted me for a long time – this was the one and only story that I started to post and never came back to complete. I promised myself ages ago that one of these days I would get my act together and finish it. And then I had a banner year of writing this year (more than half a million words of finished fic!) and decided to cap it by keeping that promise.
> 
> What's funny is that this chapter and the next were actually written back when I was actively working through this story; I just didn't feel totally confident about them or I'd have put them up long ago. It was chapter 8 where I ran into a wall and it took me until now to burst through. But the good news is that I have since finished this story. No, really, I did. And I'm going to put up a chapter a week until it's done.
> 
> Now, it's been a long, LONG time if you're me between when I began writing and when I came back to this particular tale. My style and my narrative voice have grown over the years, and I'm working with my beta to make sure that we transition as smoothly as I can manage. But I'm not going back to rewrite everything from the beginning. It stands as it is and I'm okay with that. I'm just going to go ahead from here. I hope that's all right.
> 
> For anybody coming back to this story after the long hiatus, can I just say THANK YOU SO MUCH?! This one is for you, for anyone who came upon this story and hoped I'd return someday. I'm back just for you.
> 
> So, welcome back! And enjoy!

"Okay, SO not a good idea," Beast Boy thought to himself as he dropped into a gazelle and tried outrunning the robots that were gaining on him. "Not good, not good, not good. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, I wasn't…"

As he winked from gazelle to bird to cheetah, he could feel the heat of the lasers and see the real damage of the live rounds all around him. It had seemed like such a brilliant plan! All he had to do was find the manual override, throw it, and then he could prove that he really was the best of the Titans, better even than Robin. At first he had set out cocky; surely this would be no different than any other fight. But after only a few steps it dawned on him that the arena was specifically built to be more challenging than a normal battle, to threaten beyond what he would normally face in a fight. After the first few turns in the maze, the changeling had given up on going for the extra points from the targets and was now just trying to stay alive.

"I'm SO in over my head," he thought to himself as he flipped to a hummingbird in the hopes that the small size would help him evade everything and make it to the end quickly by flying over the whole thing. It worked for a few moments, but the live course had one other feature that the safety-engaged course did not: it analyzed the abilities of the one inside and adjusted strategy and enemies to match.

"It's thinking! It changes tactics depending on what I do!" Beast Boy realized with a sudden, fearful lurch. The hummingbird was small, but he didn't have the sensory perception to see everything coming at him and he almost got burned. Dropping into a squirrel, the changeling raced across the floor trying desperately to make it to the end using the walls and partitions themselves as shields against the live fire. He had seen the shortest path to the goal from the air; now he had to reach it. As he dodged and wheeled, all his strength and wit bent on survival, he failed to notice a turret pop up on his left as he approached the final open space before the end. Out of it shot a gooey substance, similar to that which Red X had used to hold him in place in previous battles. The green squirrel barreled right into it and got thoroughly stuck.

"Ugh!" Beast Boy groaned as he switched back to himself. Rolling over, he tried to get loose, changing to everything from a spider to an elephant, but the goo held him fast. A sound from behind got his attention, and he saw one of the huge robots lumbering forward. Its laser was charged, and Beast Boy knew he was in real trouble.

-==OOO==-

"I'm doing what I can, but I can't stop the course when it's been manually overridden!" Bruce shouted. The Titans, rooted to the ground in shock, watched one of the best performances they'd ever seen from Beast Boy, and prayed it would be enough. Bruce was trying to hack the system from the inside to switch some of the robots to targeting each other in the hopes of clearing the way for the changeling, but still Beast Boy was largely on his own.

"I believe he will make it!" shouted Starfire, pointing as Beast Boy, in squirrel-form, emerged from the worst of the maze at top speed. Then, suddenly, the sticky goo exploded over him and the Titans could see that Beast Boy was trapped.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, launching himself out the door of the tower and making his way down to the maze without a second thought. Even if Bruce said the arena couldn't be entered while activated, even if it were too dangerous to risk the whole team on the live course, even if they couldn't make it in time, he had to try something. That was their friend down there!

As the Titans raced to try to reach Beast Boy before it was too late, Raven and Starfire could see from the air that the robots were closing fast. Starfire ducked low to assist Robin and Cyborg in penetrating the ground level while the airborne mage found herself staring at Beast Boy's predicament. Something rose up in Raven's heart then, not rage, but something powerful, overcoming her fatigue, lack of focus, and empathic confusion. Without knowing she was going to do it, she stretched out her hand, burning with incredible black power.

A dark dome formed over the green Titan, reflecting even lasers and bullets into the surrounding embankments and walls and shielding him from certain injury, or worse. Beast Boy sighed in relief. He was safe! Raven had saved him! He looked up in gratitude, but his face rapidly fell into an expression of horror.

The course had turned on Raven instead.

As she reached out with her power to protect the trapped Titan, Raven suddenly realized that the stationary turrets were pointing at herself and the other Titans now attempting to breach the arena from below. Drawing strength and focus from the leaping but unidentified emotion inside, she tried to protect herself and everyone else. At the same time the other Titans attacked, and Raven found herself trying to split her attention six ways. Hold shield here, throw robot there, shield friend here, turn aside bullets there… Raven's head began to spin. There was too much going on at once for her to keep up. She had drifted over the course and was now a stone's throw from Beast Boy, deep in the thick of the offensive arena.

Beast Boy stared at Raven and he could literally see her control slipping and her power flickering around her. He knew from experience that the kind of shielding Raven was holding over him wasn't easy; indeed, it often crumbled under constant barrage. The dark girl was holding it firmly for now, but he could see that she was also paying the toll in energy and concentration, not to mention trying to shield multiple people at once. Raven was doing so much, she couldn't see and block everything aimed at her.

"Ahh!" Raven screamed suddenly as a laser caught her leg and razed a searing burn along it. Faltering in the air, she had no energy or concentration to spare for healing. Beast Boy cried out. A trickle of blood dripped from the long, nasty immolation, not quite cauterized shut but widely and deeply charred. But somehow, her shield over him remained steady and impenetrable. He'd never seen her power this resistant to such constant blunt-force before.

"Raven, get out of here!" he found himself yelling.

The words echoed in Raven's mind. Her leg was throbbing now beyond her ability to process the pain and she knew the damage from the injury was acute. But she couldn't desert her team. She had to save Beast Boy. She had to save them all. Though the agony, Raven held on, clinging to her power with the sheer force of her stubbornly iron will, and her shields held firm. Suddenly Bruce was sprinting through the course, somehow ahead of the embattled Titans as he blurred to the off-panel. Abruptly the shooting stopped and an unearthly hush fell.

"Raven, are you okay?" Beast Boy called into the sudden silence, his voice tinged with fear. He was glad the ordeal was over, but all he could think about was the girl who had saved him. Sure, Raven was normally pale, but rarely had he seen her so completely colorless. She absently dismissed the dome protecting him and dropped slowly to the ground nearby. Balanced on one leg, her eyes turned inward, she looked like she was shaking. As the other Titans started to carefully make their way over, climbing around the robot parts now littering their path, Beast Boy fought the sticky mess that held him.

"Raven, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I just wanted…I mean, I didn't mean to…I'm sorry," he found himself rambling, unable to connect the words that mattered. Her dark eyes were unfocused and there was sweat on her brow. He angrily pulled at the mass of goo, venting his emotions.

"LOOK OUT!" roared Bruce out of nowhere. The two exhausted Titans turned to see the wall beside Beast Boy buckle; it had been damaged in the fighting from the ricocheting lasers and was no longer stable.

Beast Boy's animal mind moved at light speed. "Wall falling, can't get out of the way, what shape would sustain impact best?" But before he had even finished processing which animal form would protect his body under the hefty bulk of the steel-reinforced chunk, he heard Raven shout in a sharp, tight, somehow emotional voice.

"NO!"

Radiating outward in an instantaneous flash, Raven's dark power engulfed the whole world.

-==OOO==-

"Beast Boy?"

The changeling looked around in surprise. One moment he had been about to try to take the blow of a very big falling wall; the next, the whole room had stopped. Everything was covered in Raven's power, frozen in place, everything but the two of them. Even the other Titans and Bruce were held motionless in the process of trying to reach him in time. Somehow she had crossed the distance between them in that instant, and her hand was on his shoulder. Her grey touch was surprisingly warm. In fact, warmth had spread entirely through him, as though melting him from a block of ice.

"Raven, what happened?" he asked.

"I stopped time," she said wearily.

"You can do that?"

"Yes. No. Not really. I just extended my power a lot farther than usual," Raven said limping backward and away. Looking up, Beast Boy could see the wall, partially-collapsed, was nearly on top of him; she had stopped it in mid-air just above his head. It took only a moment for her to use her power to extricate him from the worst of the sticky mess before she sagged against some nearby debris.

"Raven, are you okay?" he jumped to her side, completely unaware of the uncool goo in his hair and all over his clothes. His eyes were drawn to the lesion on her leg, aghast at the severity of it. Raven's eyes fluttered and she swayed but remained conscious. He carefully pulled one of her arms over his shoulders and took all the weight off her decimated limb. She gasped at the movement and Beast Boy could smell scalded flesh. He wanted to throw up. He'd never seen a burn that bad before. Instinctively, he tightened an arm around her waist. All his delusions about "being noticed' were long gone.

"Raven, I'm so sorry," he said, close to tears.

"I know, Beast Boy, I know," she said softly. "I've got to release the power now, okay? I can't hold it anymore." She closed her deep eyes and the blackness that had filled the space melted away like ice under the sun. The slab of wall smashed into the ground with a sickening thud and the un-frozen Titans raced to them.

"How did you move so fast, friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked as Cyborg stepped forward to support Raven. Beast Boy hesitated a moment, then handed her weight over to the bionic, brotherly Titan, who gently lifted the injured girl in his arms, analyzing the burn as he held her. Although they all showed evidence of the battle, no one else was as grievously hurt. Raven was still awake, controlling her expression with ferocity. Beast Boy couldn't look away from her face.

"Yes, I was wondering about the same thing," Bruce said, his voice cold and hard. Batman's voice.

"Raven froze everything with her power," Robin said simply. "It feels like stopping time from the inside."

"You know, I'd really rather not be talked about," Raven said, a familiar snap in her otherwise exhausted voice. "I am still here, after all." She tried to glare at them through the pain.

"We know, Raven," Cyborg said gently. "But you're going to need some time in the infirmary, and some serious burn-treatment. That's major…"

"No, I won't," she interrupted stubbornly. She raised her face to Cyborg's, and her purple eyes were bright with the force of her determination. "I'll handle this myself."

A soft white-grey haze formed over her leg. As Raven narrowed her eyes in concentration, the mist settled over the wound. It swirled and roiled, then flashed brightly. The burnt flesh began to draw together, mending itself before their eyes. While the evidence of the laser's bite did not disappear entirely, it was much improved by the time the healing aura abated. With a backward glance at Cyborg, the dark girl pushed herself free of his hold and floated gently back to the ground. Her face was a mask, and the others could see hollows in her cheeks where the effort and pain had taken its toll.

"I need some time in my room," Raven announced, and before anyone could say anything, she had phased into shadow and was gone.

Beast Boy's guilt suddenly hit home with the force of a truck. A few seconds passed, during which the changeling considered turning into something fast and running for it. But he couldn't outrun his teammates anymore than he could his own guilt-ridden feelings. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"BEAST BOY!"

-==OOO==-

The initial explosion was bad. First Cyborg shouted as loudly and angrily as possible. Then Robin lectured AND shouted, and the combination of cold accusation and irate reaction was devastating. Then Starfire ranted, somewhere between tears of worry and righteous fury. When the alien princess ran out of Tamaranian words to express "that was a stupid idea, you big jerk," an uncomfortable silence settled between the Titans. By then, Beast Boy was half his normal height and his ears were red with shame and admonition. Contrary to his usual manner, he offered no defenses, nor argued with the validity of everything his teammates had said. He just took their words in pained silence.

"I'd like to speak with you alone," Bruce said, then. His voice was quietly even but to Beast Boy's ears it sounded like cement grating. The other Titans, looking at Robin, nodded knowingly. In still-angry silence, Cyborg and Starfire stalked away from the training grounds on Robin's heels, the boy wonder still sputtering, "I can't believe he would endanger himself and all he rest of us like that! What was he thinking…?"

"Walk with me," Bruce said. It was not a request. The changeling wondered if Batman had some kind of medieval punishment device in the cave somewhere. Certainly he didn't expect to see daylight for a while. It seemed like a Batman-y thing to do, lock a criminal in the shadowy cave like you give a child a time-out. He hardly deserved less. He shuffled miserably after the imposing form of Bruce Wayne in silence.

To Beast Boy's surprise, after a few minutes in a dark and empty part of the cave, they wandered back up into the manor proper, making their way through the corridors until they reached the one place that was off-limits to all explorations by the Titans: Bruce's private wing. Beast Boy's shame was only growing as the stark pilgrimage stretched on. Images of Raven's burn, of her pained face, of the anger and unchecked fear of his teammates floated before his eyes. Pushing open a varnished door into what looked like a small study, Bruce indicated for the changeling to sit on a nearby chair. The teenaged hero sank into the upholstery, words spilling over each other.

"Look, I'm really sorry! I know it was a stupid, stupid thing to do and I'm sorry and I'll make it up to you and I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt and I know I ruined a lot of equipment and…" Beast Boy trailed off, his frantic need to apologize nearly choking him. Bruce nodded and took a seat across from him.

"I know you're sorry. But you don't need to make it up to me. You need to make it up to Raven and the team. She's the one who got hurt, and they're the ones you betrayed." Bruce's words cut more than any blade.

"I know, I know…"

"I'm not going to ask you why. I already know why you did what you did."

"You-you do?" Beast Boy asked incredulously. Even he wasn't entirely sure why he had done something that stupid. At the time it had seemed so clear, though.

"Yes."

"Um…why?"

"To impress someone."

"What do you mean?" he gasped, embarrassed and suspicious.

"How long have you had feelings for Raven?"

"For…about an hour," he muttered. But as he spoke, his mind and his heart caught up on the news and he knew what he had said was a lie. The boy's mouth went suddenly dry. His voice dropping to almost a whisper, Beast Boy gulped, "Actually, a long time, I think. I just didn't realize it until today."

"Hmm. And you wanted her to notice you."

"Well…heh…" Beast Boy flushed and nodded. Bruce seemed to know so much, more even than he knew about himself.

"Garfield," Bruce's use of his real name got his attention, "do not presume to hide anything from me. I am very well aware of your reaction to her."

"How do you know all that?" he demanded.

"Because it is my job to watch people. Even if I hadn't already known from your behavior towards her at the encounter with Ebon, I could not have missed your staring at Raven when she was on the course today." There would have been a wry smile behind those words, if Bruce's voice ever betrayed emotional inflection, but he didn't. And there wasn't.

"Do you think anybody else knows?" Beast Boy said, suddenly fearful. How could he have been so obvious? He had so recently figured out he had feelings for Raven, and here they were being pointed out to him by a near-total-stranger! The thought of Raven herself knowing his feelings was enough to scare him all over again.

"I believe it is well-known by now, Garfield. Dick and Starfire are," and he smiled very slightly, like a chip in stone, "rather taken of each other and may be unaware, which I doubt, but Cyborg, I am certain, has noticed. Indeed, the only ones who are in total ignorance of this are you and Raven herself." Bruce steepled his fingers, studying the changeling's reaction to his words. The gesture was familiar; Robin did it all the time.

"Oh, man…" Beast Boy groaned, collapsing in on himself. He supported his forehead in both hands and felt his heart and mind reeling. The world was coming apart.

Thinking about Raven again, about her gentle face, her sharp wit, her very tiny smiles, he felt some things click into place. For the first time since the idea had popped into his head in the Batcave, Beast Boy began to think. Not just react or look or feel or argue with himself, but _now he thought_. And as he opened his mind to examining himself, his past, and all the places Raven lived in his memory, several things became suddenly clear.

Beast Boy realized that he had cared for Raven for a long time, maybe since some of their earliest adventures together as Titans. And he had noticed her, noticed her as more than a friend, even if she was kind of dark and aloof. But he forgot it soon after; Terra came to the Titans and was so alive and vibrant, as little like Raven as day from night. The blond beauty seemed to be all the energy and joy he could ever want in another person and she outshone the mage. Maybe he had been in love; he wasn't really sure. But if nothing else, Terra had made the changeling feel needed, and he was addicted to that feeling. Her struggle with herself and her powers only made her vulnerable, and so made Beast Boy strong, and that sensation filled him as nothing ever had before. Then she was gone, not once, but three times: once to her own fear, once to Slade, and once to what seemed like death. And each time it happened, Beast Boy felt like he was "waiting" for her, and he couldn't put those feelings aside. There had been no closure, no opportunity to move on. It was a break-up without breaking up, and as far as he was concerned, their relationship was still intact until she said otherwise, in spite of everything. Besides, for as long as Beast Boy had been heartbroken over Terra's betrayal and loss, he had had no room in his heart for other romantic attachments. It was only recently, with the confrontation with Terra now freed of her power and her curse, and subsequently letting her go back to the life she chose, that he had really opened his heart again. And now that his heart was seeking again, it found someone already waiting to be loved.

Someone who had been quietly wonderful all along.

"What do I do?" he found himself asking aloud. Looking up, he saw a questioning look on Bruce's face. "I mean, how do I make things go back to normal? I kept trying to ignore it today, but I couldn't. It just kept coming back."

"Do you think things would ever 'go back to normal' between Dick and Starfire even if they did not confront their emotions?" Beast Boy groaned again and dropped his head. He couldn't deny it; that was a good point.

"Allow me to give you a single piece of advice, Garfield." Something in the man who was Batman's voice couldn't be ignored. Beast Boy looked up again. Bruce's eyes had clouded over but his face remained granite.

"Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them. If you miss it, you will regret it forever."


	7. Back to Basics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I completely failed to get this up on Monday. Sorry!
> 
> This is the last chapter I finished way back when I started this story before it went on hiatus. Looking back at it, I am certain there are lots of things I would do differently if I were doing them now. But I'd rather let it stand as it was and just go forward. I hope the results are worth the wait!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Ha! Ya! Ugh!"

Dick Grayson hacked unremittingly at a practice dummy, his karate gi soaked in sweat. After lecturing Beast Boy to within an inch of his life, the un-costumed boy wonder had needed some time to cool down. He knew that anger and frustration beyond what he had already expressed could only divide and further damage the fabric of his team, so he turned to training to work it off.

It was rare for him to feel so angry, so betrayed. But Beast Boy had done such a stupid thing! He could have gotten them all killed! And Raven got hurt because of it.

Stopping to catch his breath, Dick leaned on the abused figure, sweat trickling down his face, tickling where his mask was supposed to be. It wasn't bad enough that Beast Boy had endangered himself and the rest of the Titans, or that it was a good thing Raven could heal herself or she would have been seriously injured with weeks of recovery. But the worst of it was that he had done it all in front of Bruce. Dick punched the dummy again, swearing as he did so. He leaned his burning head on the cool canvas, feeling an indent where his fist had been a heartbeat before.

"All I wanted was to show him how good we are, how far we've come! I wanted him to be proud of us. I wanted him to be proud of _me_. And now, because of Beast Boy, he's going to think we're still kids playing a game!" he thought angrily.

But even as he accused Beast Boy in his mind, Dick knew he was being unfair. It was hardly the changeling's problem that Bruce's opinion mattered so much to his older ward. Beast Boy may have been thoughtless and reckless, but he wasn't malicious. Blaming him further was pointless. Whatever reasons he had had for running the course live, making Bruce look down on the team was not likely one of them.

"UGH!" Dick shouted, renewing his furious efforts.

After another long, frantic bout, he felt like he could think again. He walked around the exercise room, cooling his muscles and his temper. Remembering his training, he took several deep, centering breaths, slowly returning to himself. When he felt calm again, he began to stretch. It felt good to work of his emotions.

"All done, or would you like a partner?" came a sudden voice from the doorway. Dick whirled to see Bruce standing there, dressed in his own gi and watching silently.

"No, I'm still fresh," Dick lied easily. They could both see he'd already had quite a workout, not to mention the runs in the arenas earlier, but that didn't stop the teenager from wanting to prove himself anyway. He took his time finishing his stretches, centering his body and his mind into that absolute control where his instincts and his reflexes were at their best, trying to let go of the last of his agitation. Bruce stretched beside him, moving with flawless, graceful mastery of himself and the disciplined form. At last the both stood ready.

"I won't hold back," Bruce warned as they settled into sparring position.

"I remember."

There was a single, perfect instant of silence. Then Bruce struck without warning.

The match was incredible. It was challenging beyond anything Dick had known in a long time. As he evaded and attacked, blocked and dodged, Dick's mind and body were on fire with the pure, unadulterated joy of the fight, of the flawless technique and strength of his opponent. While fighting Slade was as intense and he was just as technically adept, sparring with Bruce was so much better, more fulfilling. The style was the same, but the soaring spirit behind the technique was completely opposite. Batman might be a questionable force for vigilante justice, but Bruce's kung fu mastery was of the highest and purest order.

Moments dragged like hours and minutes flew like seconds as the two battled. Dick was pleased with his growth in height which gave him little advantage in reach but much more so in acrobatics; Bruce was agile and no slouch when it came to antics in the air, but he was not an acrobat trained from the cradle as Dick had been. However, the advantage in being able to do flips over your opponent becomes smaller when that opponent can turn and kick you before you land, so they remained evenly matched. Dick scored several hits on Bruce, but he also received several in return, his drive to win and to prove himself finally overwhelming his awe and nostalgia. By the end of the match, though he did not know it, Dick was fighting better than he had ever had before. But the fatigue from his earlier exercises started to catch up with him and the boy could feel himself running out of steam.

Finally, Bruce pulled a very unorthodox maneuver and knocked the Titan from his feet completely. Dick decided that was the end of the match and stayed put, signaling defeat. Wincing, he took an offered hand and allowed Bruce to haul him to his feet.

"Well fought, Dick. Right up until the end there I thought you had me." Bruce's face was open, the work-out eroding his normal emotional barriers and allowing more than a crack of a smile through. There was joy in his eyes, and pride too.

"I thought so, too. What was that thing you just did?" Dick asked ruefully, winded. He was exhausted but happy. However he, like Bruce, kept his feelings from his face as best he could, even while they sang in his heart. His father approved of him? The world could be okay again.

"Discovered it on accident. 'The master fears not the second-best, but the worst. Why?'" he asked. It was an old riddle and one of Batman's favorites.

"Because the worst is unpredictable and can make mistakes the master won't anticipate," Dick replied automatically.

"Exactly. Some karate-school drop-out tried that on me, and it would have gotten me the same way it did you except I had slightly more time to react than I gave you." Again the man smiled.

"Thanks," Dick said sarcastically, but he could not keep the light from his eyes.

They both bent to stretch out their muscles again, falling into their old rhythms as easily as if no years had passed between what had once been a daily habit. It felt like old times, being home like this. Of course he and Bruce had had their differences, largely about Robin's place in the crime-fighting world, but this camaraderie had never really been lost even when they were not speaking to each other. Dick was relieved and deeply glad to find that it hadn't lessened over time, either.

"Maybe tomorrow, when you have had a chance to recover," Bruce began, nodding at the now soaking gi Dick had stripped from his chest and dumped unceremoniously on the floor beyond the mat, "you would like to join me on patrol."

"I…"

Dick's mind froze. It was the first time that he had ever been asked to patrol. Before it had always been Dick asking Bruce if he could go, before it became an assumption that he was just part of the routine. But now he was being asked.

Dick flashed back to the conversation with Tim about having "passed some kind of mark," and realized how true it was. He straightened his shoulders, proud of the rippling chest muscles that stood out after the effort of the bout, and tried to answer like a man, "Yes, I would, sir."

"Tomorrow night, then," Bruce said, moving easily out of his last stretch and bowing at the edge of the mat before exiting the room. As he turned the corner, the stoic father allowed himself a small, private smile. Dick was growing up to be the man Bruce always knew his son could be, and an extraordinary man at that.

-==OOO==-

It was almost two days before Raven left her room again. She alternately slept and meditated, taking her herbal tea a few times, but only when it was left outside the door and no one was around. She didn't want to see people until she had completely recovered. The empath had worn herself thin in that stupid battle so soon after confronting Ebon and she needed time and peace to recharge, not just physically, but emotionally as well.

Deep in meditation, Raven began searching for some understanding of what had happened. Carefully, she re-played the scenario in her mind many times, looking for something, anything to explain the surge of energy that had caused both her unusually resistant shields and her ability to stop time briefly within the arena. As she reexamined her memories, Raven slowly came to realize that one of her emotions must have gotten loose, free of her conscious control, and expressed itself in her power. It was from her heart that she had drawn so much strength to protect Beast Boy and the others. But which emotion? And why?

"Well, there's one sure way to find out," she muttered to herself with a sigh. All things considered, the dark girl hated dealing with her emotions directly. They were awfully annoying. She shifted a few things around in her mind, and then, without even breaking her meditation, used her power to lift the Nevermore mirror from her bag and draw it to her hands. A deep breath, and she was once again walking the arched paths of her mind.

"I want to talk to all of you," Raven stated firmly, calling her emotions to her. One by one they appeared, each in their own characteristic way, popping up excitedly or phasing into view more reluctantly. Although each figure looked just like Raven with a differently-colored cloak, they weren't real beings. They were literally manifestations of Raven's feelings, visible entities she created with her mind to better negotiate with and control her emotional reactions. And each one had a personality of her own and the will to use it.

"Hey girl! We haven't seen you in way too long!" shouted the pink Happy emotion delightedly. Happy was one of Raven's least favorite personas, not only because she was always so cheerful and playful, but because she also thought everything Beast Boy said was funny. As such, she kept Happy under very tight control. Raven didn't "do" happy, and she certainly didn't find her green teammate amusing, no matter what Happy said.

"Yeah, waddaya want?" grumbled the orange-cloaked Rude. Rude, coarse and often irreverent, was a very active emotion, since it was from her that Raven's dry and biting sarcasm was born. Rude and the yellow Intelligence worked well together for that purpose.

"You've come to consult us, to discover what is happening," stated Wisdom, brown cloak swirling. Wisdom was generally soft-spoken, and while she shared the knowledge of Raven's thoughts and memories with Intelligence, Wisdom was the insight that made facts come together to create truth. Wisdom was also the source of Raven's feelings of hope, as it was by seeing the best of what could be that encouraged Raven not to give up.

"Yes, I have. One of you got loose, and I want to know who." Raven spoke sharply with her emotions; if she let them take too much control in Nevermore, she was just as likely to let them out upon returning to herself.

"Wasn't me," fumed the demonic red Rage. Her courageous and warrior self, Brave, nodded vehemently.

"Yeah, I've been looking after that one," the green-cloaked Raven grinned confidently.

"What about you, though?" Raven pushed her offensive side. Brave was the likeliest candidate to have gotten free of her control, as she was the part of Raven that was the most deeply committed to battle, the center she sought in the heat of the moment to strengthen and focus her powers. Certainly Brave must have had something to do with her unusual control and effectiveness at protecting her friends.

"Well…I was there…" Brave hedged, grinning secretly.

"What do you mean?" Raven demanded. She hated it when her emotions tried to hide things from her!

"Brave means that she was not the only force involved," Intelligence pointed out, common sense re-stating the obvious as she absently pushed up the wide glasses that set her apart from the others. Raven's head snapped around, examining each of her emotions in turn.

"Happy and Timid, you're both too unlikely," the grey Timid shying away at even an association with something that would call Raven's attention to her, "and this was pretty active, so that takes out Wisdom and Intelligence, and it certainly wasn't Rage, or Rude for that matter, which leaves…"

"Me." The purple-cloaked Raven stepped forward, smiling gently.

"Oh, you. Well, that's not too surprising," Raven said dismissively. Of course Affection, keeper of everything from friendship and loyalty to a sense of duty to people in general, would be involved. Even Raven at her most stoic was fully aware that she had deep and abiding love for all her friends. Knowing that it was this emotion behind the surge of power was not unheard of, although Raven generally went to great lengths to keep Affection under control. The blue-cloaked original nodded. "Nothing to worry about then."

"I wouldn't say that," Wisdom intoned.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked with an edge to her voice. This beating around the bush was getting on her nerves.

"It was me," Affection said, stepping closer to Raven, "but I wasn't acting out of friendship. I was acting out of love."

"Look, we can play games with semantics some other time," Raven said, turning to go.

"You're not listening," Intelligence snapped. Rude grinned. Raven turned back towards the purple image of herself.

"I said I was acting out of love," Affection repeated. She closed the distance until she was staring Raven straight in the eyes. Raven squirmed; she felt uncomfortable this close to her own Affection, especially when the emotion was this insistent. "Real love, Raven. If you'd only let me…"

"No."

"Can't I even tell you…?"

"No. We're done here." Raven's voice had gone cold. Whatever it was her feelings were trying to tell her, she didn't want to hear it.

"You've got to face this sometime," Brave said seriously, stepping forward. For an emotion who tended to hop around congratulating herself on winning a fight, hearing Brave speak so intensely got Raven's attention.

"I'm not running away from my feelings, if that's what you mean."

"Yes, you are," chorused Brave, Wisdom, and Affection.

"It's not like he loves us back, so it doesn't matter anyway," mumbled Timid, who had pulled into herself and was trying to look as small as possible. Raven turned on the frightened, hopeless aspect of herself, eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" She turned sharply back to Affection, her own heart hammering in her chest. "Who are you talking about?"

"Beast Boy."

-==OOO==-

It took Raven what felt like hours to call her emotions to order, as they all began to talk at once. When she couldn't deal with the direct confrontation with her own feelings anymore, she fled the plane of Nevermore, unable to even look at Affection by that point. Re-centering herself in meditation, the dark girl tried to sort out everything she had suddenly learned.

Beast Boy. Somehow, without ever knowing it, Raven had developed feelings for Beast Boy. She almost groaned internally. Sure he was a pretty good guy, and sure they had things in common, but he was also immature, annoying, and silly. He was a jerk, unwilling reach beyond those immediate pursuits of a ten-year old, not to mention wholly uninterested in all the things she enjoyed.

On the other hand, in spite of acting like a total idiot, Raven couldn't argue that the changeling had a kindness and a loyalty about him that were very special. She knew that once Beast Boy dedicated his life to something, he never gave up on it. And once he had overcome his initial preconceptions of her, Beast Boy's jokes and pranks had been intended to make her laugh, not poke fun at her. He went out of his way to draw smiles from her, no matter how down she was. He wanted her to be happy. She felt her blood get warm and she flushed despite the meditation.

There was no denying her feelings for the green changeling now that she was actively aware of them.

Raven had really not paid any attention to the evolution of her own opinion of her green teammate, but over time she had slowly and steadily come to regard Beast Boy as more than a pest, and then as more than just a friend. No longer did she want to kill him every day; in fact, Raven's day wasn't really complete without ignoring Beast Boy at least once. But behind that "I'm ignoring you" façade, Raven was usually very aware of her teammate. And now that she thought about it, she had been very aware of him for a long time, and as more than "just" a friend.

He was a kindred spirit in a lot of ways, even though he was as bouncy and cheerful as she was recalcitrant and cold. But there was something deep that was real about him, too, and as dark as her own inner self could be bright. Emotionally, they were almost photo-negatives of each other, and she respected him for that hidden side.

A memory popped into Raven's mind unbidden, and even as she remembered, she cursed her emotions for springing it on her. It was the night of Malchior's betrayal, when Beast Boy had come to her door to check on her. Raven had been hurt in a way she had never known before, shaken to her core by what it was like to be cast aside by one she thought loved her. And the changeling had been sorry for her, sorry she was hurt. He had coaxed her out of her room with his unexpected sympathy for her pain. And she had hugged him, desperate for comfort. It had only been a moment, but it was one of the few times she had really needed anyone to help her through feeling so vulnerable and lonely, the only time she had ever asked Beast Boy for that kind of support. Not only had she been healed by his words and concern, but she had felt safe there in his very surprised hug.

That moment he let her hold him, Raven felt at peace with herself, and that feeling came from him.

This wasn't just some schoolgirl-crush. Raven's feelings for the changeling were deep and strong.

"No," Raven said aloud, suddenly opening her eyes and rejecting the sensations the memory spawned inside. "I can't let this happen. I can't get hurt again. It's just too dangerous. Last time, I almost unleashed something terrible on the world. I won't do it again. I just won't."

Something in the room broke with an explosive crash.

Sighing in frustration, the dark girl resumed her mantra and tried to get back her control. She was sure of it now: any feelings for Beast Boy beyond friendship were out of the question. Not only did she fear getting hurt by him, but she also feared what her powers would do if she dared expressing her emotions more openly.

With Malchior, Raven had been fine; her powers and control had not suffered for her emotional release. But now that her heart was scarred by the experience, she would be more unpredictable, her fears slipping out constantly. Trepidation was one of the worst things for her control, and Raven could not let herself go through the anxiety of trying to deal with her own past. She could not risk getting her heart involved in a person, because the first time something went wrong, Raven was sure she would damage more than a lamp.

It would hurt, knowing that she cared about him and unable to express it, but worse than denying her feelings was endangering Beast Boy himself. That was one thing she was not willing to risk.

"No matter what I feel, no matter how much I want to feel, I just can't let myself. I'm too much of a danger to everyone, especially Beast Boy. Malchior was right. I'll always be alone. And that's just the way it has to be."

 


	8. Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was the last bit I had written and ready back when I gave up on this story for a while. From here on out, it's new material I finally pulled together to get this story done.
> 
> Enjoy!

Robin launched himself off a gargoyle in a perfect arc, landing several stories below to meet Batman. The city's protector had just concluded a visit with Commissioner Gordon, and as usual, Robin had had no inclination to join them. There was a friendship between the two men which, while interesting to watch from an outsider's perspective, often lent itself to cryptic remarks and drawn-out "stories from the old days" in guarded terms, and Robin didn't want them to have to edit themselves because of his presence any more than he wanted to spend a half hour pretending to understand the veiled references being tossed around. So it was only after they finished whatever it was they talked about for so long that Robin swung down to rejoin his mentor.

"Anything up?" the Titan's leader asked the dark shape beside him.

"Nothing out of the ordinary yet," Batman said, his voice cold as ever, "but the Commissioner has heard rumors of something moving in. Could be the Metabreed. We should probably check out the regular haunts. I don't like uninvited guests."

"Especially when we haven't been able to welcome them properly," Robin quipped, nodding. Batman gave a very slight smile, although it could have been a trick of the dim light. When in uniform, the Bat rarely smiled.

The "dynamic duo" once more, they set out across the skyline to investigate the regular places that new or displaced crooks tended to use as temporary hide-outs: abandoned warehouses, old factories, etc. Skimming from building to building alongside his father, Robin lost his usually-severe demeanor and grinned for all he was worth, knowing the night would hide his expression. Patrol in Jump City was always satisfying no matter with whom he shared the duty, but patrol with Batman was still strangely fulfilling. As they checked place after place, scaring some punk-kids and a few homeless people in the process, Robin found himself wondering if he would ever lose this awe of Batman, or if he would ever really succeed in equaling the master who had trained him.

Batman, Bruce Wayne, was the only person alive that Robin would ever see as a mentor, the only one he would ever serve, and love, as an apprentice and son.

This thought had only just crossed Robin's mind when something chillingly familiar caught his attention. They were exploring an old auto factory when a passing car's headlights caught a piece of shiny, dark metal in the deepest shadows. Robin's eyes went wide and he halted in his tracks. Batman, a few steps ahead, whirled in anticipation of an attack, but instead met only his pupil, as tense and angry as he had ever seen him, staring into the dark. He muttered one word, hate coloring his young voice.

"Slade."

"Robin. Such a pleasure to see you again," came the smooth and deadly voice of Robin's greatest enemy. With a careless grace, Slade melted from the shadows to stand several yards away. "It's been quite some time since we last met. You've been busy."

"Like I promised, nothing's changed, Slade. I'm going to stop you, whatever you're up to this time," Robin growled.

Batman looked from Robin to Slade. He knew about the villain, of course, given the wanton destruction Slade had wrought all over Jump City in the past, but was only vaguely aware that there was more than the usual antagonism between his ward and this particular enemy. Robin's whole body was nearly shaking in suppressed rage. Whatever had taken place between them had touched a nerve with Dick somehow, something that burned him as nothing had since the death of his biological parents.

Batman's eyes narrowed as his mind reached the swift conclusion that Slade had hurt Robin somehow, and the usually stoic vigilante felt his own blood burn in response. Nobody hurt his boy.

"Aren't you a little far from home?" Batman interjected, deep voice grating.

"One does travel from time to time, you know," Slade said, making no obvious move and yet somehow getting closer to them. "And I confess to a rather strong curiosity to see the man who educated young Robin. A pity the boy had to be so stubborn about taking on a new master, as I can see you've left him still so untrained…"

"He doesn't need training from the likes of you," Batman spat darkly.

"Well, surely you recognize his talent," Slade purred, "or else you wouldn't have spent your time on him. But if you really think he's mastered his trade, then that would suggest that you are as poorly prepared as he. Interesting. I did not expect to find Batman as stubborn as his side-kick, but I suppose I am not surprised." This garnered no response from the Dark Knight.

"What do you want, Slade?" Robin demanded.

"Why, the same as always, my boy. After Terra was such a resounding disappointment and now that things are, well, back to normal after our little adventure with a certain fiery being, I have come back for you. Now that you have had some time to think it over, won't you reconsider my offer?" Slade's voice was soft but absolutely venomous.

"Offer?" Batman asked, having subtly moved to stand beside and slightly in front of Robin.

"To become my apprentice, of course. Surely you can see how he would carry my mantle so well. And since you obviously have no more use for the boy, why don't you turn him over to me? I would be like a father to him."

"What do you mean I have no more use for him?" Batman demanded, cutting off whatever Robin had been about to say. The hero of Gotham found himself struggling to maintain his stony self-control. Something about this man claiming to replace him as Robin's father broke through his usual emotional barriers. Deep down, Batman was as primal and territorial as any beast of the night, and not only was his son his alone to protect, but his alone to love. The strength of his reaction surprised him, not to mention the surprise of the otherwise fuming boy wonder, but neither had any time to consider it.

"You have a new Robin. Come, come. You can't be selfish about it. Since you obviously don't want this one anymore, the least you can do is let me have him." Batman bristled internally again but made an effort to keep still as Slade continued, "While I believe that this Robin is far superior to your new apprentice, you are the one who has cast him aside. Now, Robin," he said, shifting his focus like a snake to the objectified boy, "since your old mentor is obviously unworthy of your loyalty, it's time for you to move on."

"No it's not!" Robin shouted, composure broken. He launched himself with a fierce yell at the man who was his nightmare, whipping out his bo staff and attacking with all his might. After landing several solid blows, Robin missed a block and was kicked squarely into a nearby pillar, Slade chuckling all the while. Batman, already in motion, filled in the gap left by the recovering Titan and initiated his own attack against Slade. As Robin staggered to his feet, he almost lost track of what he was doing in watching two incredible masters fight. Even he didn't know who was the stronger between his mentor and his enemy. As he began to charge back in, however, Slade barked a command into the shadows.

Suddenly there was a pulsating darkness within the shadows and then an army of Slade's robots marched into view. Leading the charge were Hotstreak and Talon. Sliding somewhere behind, Robin knew he would find Ebon as well. The Metabreed had joined up with Slade? Great. Batman and Slade were still going head to head, and he was definitely out-gunned. Backpedaling to give himself space, the boy wonder pulled out his yellow communicator. He needed his team. Now.

"Titans, trouble!"

-==OOO==-

It took only moments for Cyborg to lock onto their position from the Batcave. While Tim changed, as he was unaccustomed to hanging around in his uniform as the Titans did every day, the others had a 30-second discussion on how best to reach Robin in time. They were without the T-Car, and the T-Ship was awkward to maneuver quickly in an urban landscape.

"He's all the way across the city," Cyborg said, fiddling with the controls on his right forearm.

"We must fly!" Starfire demanded, already floating in the air and at the breaking point of her patience with the delay. Tim emerged, fully clad in the appropriate Robin-wear.

"Hello?! Have you SEEN how big Gotham is compared to home? That'll take too long, not to mention the fact that I'll have to carry one of you," Beast Boy gestured to Cyborg and Tim, "and it'll make me twice as tired! I don't have crazy super-duper alien strength like you do, Star!"

"Enough of this!" Raven snapped. In Robin's absence, she and Cyborg tended to share de facto leadership of the Titans, largely because Raven hated being in command but was rather good at it, whereas Cyborg enjoyed it but sometimes lost his focus. But the dark mage's feelings were blaring and foreboding echoed through her mind. Even fully shielded, she could sense Robin's fear, and hate; she knew what they would find when they reached him. Everyone stopped and looked at her expectantly. She sighed internally.

"Let's go," Raven ordered, taking unwanted control of the situation by spreading her arms. The darkness of her soul-self emerged, wrapped itself around the Titans and Tim, and she launched herself through the Batcave and into the sky.

In this form, Raven's conscious mind took a back-seat to a more primal understanding, not unlike what happened with Beast Boy in an animal shape. That was the reason is why she used this particular ability so rarely: Raven hated the loss of her human consciousness under the demon instincts she fought so hard to ignore. However, disconcerting as it was to be on the level of "go that way, find friend," her soul-self was faster than even Starfire in flight, and therefore the only logical choice for the Titans in an emergency. In the span of a handful of moments, she had covered the ground from Wayne Manor to their destination. Raven had intended to drop everyone outside, giving them the chance to charge into the fight on their own, but a searing sense of pain through her link with Robin drove her directly into the building and to their leader's side. She landed on the ground and the Titans and Tim sprung from the retreating shadow of her soul, battle-ready.

"Titans, go!" Robin said, relief coloring his voice at their appearance. Batman had broken off his one-on-one with Slade in order to help Robin against a sea of robots and the Metabreed, but that didn't prevent Slade from attacking him every chance he got. They were dearly outnumbered and had been in danger of being overwhelmed. He had only just barely evaded a Slade-bot's laser, and he could feel the burn of it on one shoulder.

"Booyah!" shouted Cyborg as he released his sonic cannon into a group of robots. The Titans split up, instinctively lending their abilities where they would be of the most use. Starfire soared to engage Hotstreak, as the alien was largely immune to the dangers of his Metabreed fire. Beast Boy, Cyborg, Batman, and the younger Robin dealt with the innumerable robots. Raven went after the airborne Talon. And the Titan's leader, that familiar look of furious obsession stretched across his face, confronted his greatest nemesis head-on.

Talon surprised Raven by being unusually agile in the air, and not at all shy about using her sonic scream to interrupt the Titan's mantra. Raven flew rapidly after her winged adversary, trying to ignore the presence she sensed was nearby. Ebon's proximity grated on her, and it took more effort than usual for her to regain control knowing he was hiding somewhere in the shadows that crawled over every inch of the space. But it was only a few moments more of pursuit until the dark girl could lift several large objects from the factory floor and put them in Talon's path. The half-bird avoided the first two but crashed into the third with a screech. She fell out of the air with a graceless plop, landing on an old conveyor belt below. Raven wrapped some pieces of the belt around the inert Bang Baby and left her bound and unconscious, taking special care to bind her mouth to prevent Talon's sonic scream from disrupting things again later. She turned back towards the main fight to support the others, but a voice stopped her in mid-air.

"Raven…"

"No," she whispered against the taunting, chilling echo of her name. A shudder ran down her spine as Ebon rose from the darkness in front of her, looming like a nightmare.

"Don't you want to come back to me again?" he asked. Something about his voice was scarily seductive, and the demon-half of Raven's legacy momentarily longed to surrender. But she caught herself just in time.

"No!" Raven shouted, and as Ebon lunged for her, she sped away, flying almost blindly in her need to escape before she gave in. She weaved in and around various battles, trying desperately to get away from the shadow she could feel creeping closer and closer.

"You're too dark to escape me," he threatened her, a tendril of shadow almost catching her leg. "Darkness belongs to me, and so do you, pretty shadow that you are." His voice was throaty and resonant. Raven threw her power behind her and moved on, higher into the rafters of the factory. Then, a sudden inspiration struck. She remembered something she had read regarding how the heroes of Dakota City dealt with Ebon. Making a sharp turn, she skimmed low to where the battle raged on the ground.

"Cyborg!" she shouted, making a beeline for the cybernetic Titan whose sonic cannon echoed in the vast building. "Cyborg, shoot him!"

"You got it, Rae!" he roared, lifting his right arm. He could see the terrible shadow following Raven as she dodged furiously to stay away from it. Carefully lining up his shot, Cyborg waited until he could spot what seemed to be Ebon's head, then let loose a tornado of power.

"Aaghh!" Ebon cried out when the cannon's blast hit him square in the face. Although it could not damage him, not exactly, the sonic cannon's energy was concentrated light, Ebon's only weakness. He retreated back up into the darker corners of the factory, trying to evade the brilliant beam of power.

"Take that, you ugly excuse for a vat of paint!" Cyborg shouted, getting into it now. Raven landed lightly beside him, glad for the bright light that coursed through Cyborg's whole being. While he forced Ebon back, she protected the bionic Titan from the encroaching robots that would otherwise have swamped him, pointedly ignoring her pursuer and leaving him to her teammate.

"I'll be back for you, Raven…" Ebon moaned softly before slipping into a crack behind a beam. Cyborg did a quick scan, which revealed that the shadow-being had retreated from the warehouse entirely for the moment.

"They always say that, Rae. But I don't think we'll be seeing him for a while," Cyborg smiled gently. He could see the strain in Raven's face as she tried to smile back. She was so relieved that she forgot to tell him not to call her "Rae," which was always a bad sign. "That guy must have really scared our girl to shake her this badly," he thought to himself. Cyborg considered giving her a hug, but figured she wouldn't accept it, not when other people could see. He decided to hug her later when she wouldn't be as embarrassed by it.

"Hey, dudes! Hello…? Eek! A little help over here!" Beast Boy shouted before turning into a green ankylosaurus in an attempt to clear the plethora of robots piled around him. Cyborg and Raven shared an amused look and jumped into battle beside the beset changeling. Internally, Raven sighed. As long as Ebon was weakened, he wouldn't try to fight her for her powers and mind. She was safe.

-==OOO==-

Meanwhile, Robin and Slade had moved their battle throughout the empty building, winding up high above most of the rest of the fight in the rafters. Robin had retreated to an older form of combat, one more suited to the narrow beams and tight spaces, and Slade had taken this as an excuse to provide commentary.

"You use the environment to your advantage well, Robin," Slade said smoothly as he emerged from a shadow to sweep at Robin's feet.

Robin managed a flip and swung himself on one of the beams to come back around for a kick of his own. "I'm not here for your approval!"

"Yes, but unlike your former mentor, I am actually willing to train you," Slade returned. "You will _never_ gain Batman's approval or attention again. But you may yet earn mine."

Robin saw red and charged recklessly, diving between support beams with a wordless cry.

Slade caught Robin's outstretched arm and spun him in a brutal arc straight into a steel gridiron. Robin hit the metal I-beam and coughed as all the air left his lungs. He gasped and fought to regain his breathing.

Slade pinned Robin and yanked his head back by his hair, leaning close. "Accept it, Robin. You have been _replaced_. How long do you think it will be before your friends see what Batman saw and take in that _other_ Robin as their own? Join me now, before they get the chance to betray you, and I won't even turn you against them."

Robin managed a strangled gasp, enough to stop the spots growing before his eyes. He couldn't break Slade's hold, but he decided that he didn't need to after all.

Robin twisted one leg and hooked a foot under the beam below him. With a wrenching effort, he flipped them both into the air.

"Very good, Robin!" Slade approved, even as he grappled the boy while they fell.

Robin was trying desperately to push Slade away so he could get out a line and keep from smashing on the ground, but every time he gained an inch to move, Slade was there, blocking him.

"I believe I've proved my point," Slade said suddenly.

And then he was gone, pushing off of Robin to throw out a line of his own and swinging away. Robin glanced around, just barely throwing out his grappling hook in time to slow his momentum a little before he crashed through a stack of crates.

Robin hurt all over, his head ringing. He curled an arm around his shoulder which he was pretty sure he had dislocated on impact. He blinked up at the shadowy light filtering from above, jagged wood framing the hole he had cut with his fall like skeletal tree branches. Then a head appeared.

"In the end, Robin, no one will catch you. In the end, you will always fall alone. And when you truly understand that, I'll be waiting."

Dazed, Robin listened to the sounds of the battle around him. His team was still fighting – he could hear them. He couldn't hear Batman or the other Robin, but he wouldn't expect to – Batman didn't approve of making noise that could give away one's position.

"Did…they really let me fall?" Robin couldn't help but wonder. Then he shook his head, which was a mistake because pain roared in his ears and it took him several moments of slow breathing before he could focus enough to answer with, "They must not have seen me fall. They wouldn't just let me down like that. They wouldn't."

But then his brain latched onto something else. "Batman doesn't miss things. Not in a fight. He always knows where everyone is. He must have seen me fall. And he let me." The voice in his mind sounded suspiciously like Slade and Robin fought to ignore it.

He distracted himself by rolling over and wedging his dislocated shoulder into a crack between boards of the crate that had mostly stayed together under him. With a horrific twist, he pushed the joint back into place, biting down against the cry it almost tore from him. He lay panting for a few moments as his arm buzzed with pain.

A voice cut through his awareness. "Yo! Anybody seen Robin?" Cyborg was yelling.

"Last time I looked, he and Slade were up in the rafters!" Beast Boy called back.

"Well, they ain't there now!"

"Robin! Robin, where are you?" Starfire cried. Then, with anger, "If he has been hurt, you will be sorry, you robots of evil!"

Robin felt the slightest twinge in his mind before he felt more than saw a shadow creep over him. But he was not afraid, so he focused on struggling at least to his knees while Raven's power wrapped carefully around the boxes that were piled above him.

"I've got him," Raven said somewhere close by. Then the boxes around Robin were moved away and he was lifted from their remains in a secure black sphere.

"Robin! Oh, Robin, are you all right?" Starfire streaked through the air to him, hovering nervously.

Robin tried to smile. "Just a little banged up," he said, meeting her worried green eyes gratefully.

"What happened to Slade?" Beast Boy wanted to know, backing up to cover Raven while she focused on setting Robin down gently.

"He's gone."

Robin looked up just as Raven's power winked out to the long shadow of Batman, Tim in his wake. Between the darkness, his muddled head, and Batman's impassive expression, even Robin couldn't read anything into the total lack of inflection in Batman's words.

Cyborg gave one last yell of "Booyah!" and the warehouse fell quiet at last. He jogged over to meet them. "The bots are all down, but it looks like Ebon came back for his little buddies."

"Yeah, they got away," Tim added.

Robin felt like sleeping for a week, so when Starfire offered him a shoulder to lean on, he took it gratefully. "Thanks, Star."

"I believe you need rest," she said gently. "Slade is never an easy opponent."

"The T-Ship is already on the way," Cyborg reported. He glanced to the side. "We can make room for you two if you want a ride."

Batman looked down at Tim. "Go with them. I have a city to patrol. _Alone_."

Both Robins blinked at him in wordless surprise.

But it was Beast Boy who spoke up, his eyes not on Robin or even Batman, but on Raven. "Sounds okay to me. I think we could all use a break."

Robin, tired and hurt and confused, still didn't miss that Raven's hood was up and her eyes were shadowed – more than usual. He wondered what he'd missed.

"I will rejoin you before dawn," Batman said before sliding into darkness and vanishing as silently as a cloud.

"Man!" Cyborg went for tension relief. "Is it me, or is it creepy the way he does that?"

"I will also agree with the creepy," Starfire told him. Then, with a glance at Robin that turned concerned, "But perhaps it is also a good kind of creepy?"

"Yeah, we live in the good kind of creepy," Tim said. He shrugged. "Don't you guys? I mean…" and he tipped his head towards Raven – not accusingly, just stating the fact.

They were saved by the arrival of the T-Ship before anyone could react to Tim's unthinking words and their possible impact on the quietest member of the Titans. But as they climbed aboard, Robin happy to let Starfire ease him into his chair gently, he noted that Raven's closed expression was now completely cut off.

"Raven," he called softly before the domes came down. She didn't turn around to look, but he knew somehow that she was listening. "Thanks for bringing the team when I needed them."

"You're welcome," she said stiffly.

"I can always count on you to do a good job," Robin said, carefully reinforcing the word "good" with a push from his heart of his genuine gratitude. And not just gratitude that the Titans had come when he'd been in trouble – gratitude that Raven was there in his mind, a part of him.

That was enough. Raven actually pushed back her hood and smiled a little at him. "Thank you, Robin."

Her eyes drifted away before the domes came down. Robin slid his gaze across and just had time to wonder why Beast Boy had chosen to share his seat with Tim in the form of a crow before he felt himself drop into welcome oblivion.


	9. Kindred Minds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to draw to a close. Next week I'll put up the last 2 chapters together and we'll be done!
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a quiet day after the night's excitement. Batman didn't return to the manor until just before dawn, and he immediately headed out again for the day as Bruce Wayne without exchanging more than the most cursory words with anyone but Alfred. Dick, for his part, slept until almost noon. When he woke, however, he felt much better despite the ugly bruising covering his shoulder. But that was par for the course – Beast Boy had an advanced ability to heal, Starfire had her alien strength, Cyborg's injuries tended to be mechanical, and Raven could heal herself through meditation. Only Robin ever wandered around for such a long time with the evidence of their fights littered all over his person. And Raven would have healed him if he asked, but that was one of the rules drilled into him from his time with Batman: you take care of your injuries in silence or you're not fit to fight.

Dick found that Alfred had left him a tray, which he gratefully emptied and returned to the kitchens, discovering on his way that things were very quiet. A check of his communicator gave Starfire's location as the game room, with Cyborg and Beast Boy off in another area and Raven in her own room. With no real desire to wander the mostly empty manor and feeling familiar silence descending upon him, he made his way down to the Batcave to see if he could track Slade or the Metabreed. Because when Dick Grayson didn't want to talk, he worked. The rhythm of the task soothed him and he let himself fall into a daze of focused investigation instead of introspection.

It was only when a barrage of little pebbles broke his concentration that Dick realized he'd been working non-stop for hours, almost to sundown. And apparently Cyborg had been trying to get his attention via ballistic gravel.

"Yo, Robin! Can I talk to you for a minute?" Cyborg called from his spot underneath the right wing of the T-Ship. Robin, having just completed a scan of Gotham from the nearby console, got to his feet and met Cyborg in the middle. The Batcave was silent and empty, except for a few bats clinging to the ceiling above.

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"I… Look, man, I don't like to pry. But I just gotta get something clear before I go ahead and make a really stupid mistake." The cybernetic hero took a deep breath. "How do you feel about Raven?"

"Raven?" Dick asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, man. I mean, sometimes it seems like there's something going on between you two, but lately you've...you know, had a thing for Starfire. And you and I both know how Beast Boy feels about our girl. So I wanted to make sure I know where everybody stood before I told him what to do."

"Told him what to do?" Dick echoed again. Cyborg sighed to himself. Robin was definitely behind on the news. With the Titan's leader thinking only of Slade, it was no wonder he had no clue what was happening right under his nose!

"Long story, Rob. The little grass stain asked for my advice on how to approach Raven, since he's sweet on her, and I don't want to tell him the wrong thing. I hate being in the middle, but I don't want him making a dumb mistake and getting hurt, either. He seems to think there's something between you two. So will you answer my question already?" he prodded.

"Um…sure. Raven's a good friend. She's…I don't know, she's smart and she's brave, and she's given me a lot of faith in, you know, what we do here. I mean, if someone like her can be a hero, coming from a past like that, then there's hope for all of us, no matter what we face or what we have to overcome. And she's also…" He trailed off uncomfortably, ducking his head and looking at his feet.

"Yeah, it's that part I'm worried about," Cyborg said dryly, after an awkward moment's pause.

"No, it's not what you think!" Robin protested. He backed up to sit on a protruding ledge of the cave and motioned for Cyborg to sit as well. He'd never told his team about the link between their minds, but apparently it was time. Robin hadn't asked Raven why they kept the bond a secret, or even if it was deliberate; he hoped Raven wouldn't be too bothered by this. "Listen, Raven's kinda…part of me. Do you remember when I was hallucinating and seeing Slade everywhere in the dark?"

"You almost killed yourself. Of course I remember." Cyborg settled himself next to the Titan's leader, watching him carefully.

"Then you remember that Raven threw herself into my mind, to see what I was seeing." At Cyborg's nod, he continued, "She sort of became me for a moment. Our minds were one, just for that instant. When it was over, and ever since then, there's been a sort of connection between us. Her mind, her feelings, they're sort of linked with mine. I can sense her somehow. It's…I don't know how to explain it."

"It's how you saved her from Ebon," Cyborg said quietly, things falling into place. "I was wondering about that. I mean, I know you two are sort of close, but I couldn't figure out how she latched onto your brain, I mean, yours in particular."

"That's how," Dick nodded. "I think the bond is stronger on her end. I think she can reach farther into my mind than I can into hers, which is really what saved her from Ebon. But I get glimpses, especially when she's feeling something strongly. So when everything started to happen, I mean with Trigon rising and everything, I could feel it. I knew there were things she was keeping from us. I could sense her fear. She was more afraid than I've ever known her to be before or since. And I had to protect her."

He took a breath. "So I guess I do have something special with her now. That experience changed us both. But I don't understand what the problem is with that, though. Why should Beast Boy be worried if we're closer now?"

"That's what I'm talking about, though!" Cyborg flailed his arms in confused frustration. "Until the whole Trigon thing, you really didn't take any extra notice of Raven, even if you did have this bond…thing…whatever it is. And then suddenly you're at her side all the time, and she's all attached to you. Even there at the end, it was you she protected, you she ran to, and you she tried to wake when she was afraid. Not to mention it was you she credited with believing in her, and she was happier then than I've ever seen her."

"I know," Dick said, surprised. "Is that what's worrying you?"

"Man, look at it from my perspective!" Cyborg said, exasperated. "For years, nothing. Then, _bam_ , she trusts you, talks to you, smiles at you, even hugs you! If you hadn't kissed Starfire in front of me in Tokyo, even I would have sworn you two had a thing for each other!"

"No, you're wrong. There is something very important between us, it's true, and she did take special notice of me when Trigon came. But the thing you've got to understand is that the reason it was always me she ran to, and not you or Beast Boy or Starfire, was because I was the only one she could be sure of."

"Raven trusts us! She could be sure of us!" Cyborg pointed out defensively.

Robin held up a hand, motioning him silent.

"Think about it this way, Cy. Your whole life, somebody tells you that you are to be feared and hated. You are cursed from the moment you open your eyes to be alone, to be despised, to be the bringer of ultimate evil. And then it happens. How would you feel? Raven was raised to believe that once Trigon rose, no one would ever care about her again. I know Raven trusts us all, but it's a fragile trust built on years of pain and fear and loneliness. So when she was at her most isolated, when she most needed a friend that would go against what she had been told her whole life, the only person she could be absolutely sure wouldn't reject her was…"

"The one whose mind she could read," Cyborg finished, nodding.

"Exactly. She knows my thoughts and my heart as well as I do, better sometimes. She could see there in my mind as clear as day that I would help her and believe in her, not reject her. She could be sure of me in a way she couldn't with you all, not without actually invading your minds as well. That's why it had to be me that saved her, because in all that fear, she could only trust me. Because she could know for a fact that she was safe with me even if she still feared everyone else."

"I get it. When little Raven protected you before she came back to herself at the end of the fight, she was really trying to protect the _idea_ that someone believed in her, along with the one person she felt safe with. It wasn't you the person she was trying to save, not exactly, but the hope itself that somebody cared about her, cared enough to save her. You were the embodiment of that hope she had for all of us."

"And that's what gave her the strength to fight back, with all of our help, not just mine. That's precisely it!" Dick was relieved. He still felt guilty about letting Raven's feelings and fears right out into the open without her express permission, but it was probably better that than let his friends go thinking the wrong thing about their relationship.

"Okay man, I can buy that. So you and Raven are…?" and he trailed off, winking.

"Just friends. Or, maybe more like brother and sister. But it's all platonic, believe me."

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, dude!" came a familiar voice. A figure moved out of the shadows, where Robin could have sworn there were only shadows and a few bugs before.

"Beast Boy? You were listening this whole time?" Robin demanded. Cyborg laughed.

"Sorry, man. I didn't want to fool you! But BB here wouldn't leave me alone unless I asked you while he could listen in."

"I wanted to make sure you were telling me the truth," Beast Boy protested. He looked sheepishly at the Titan's leader. "I was afraid that he wouldn't tell me the whole story, if he wanted to spare me, you know. If there wasn't any chance for me…I mean…"

"We understand, Beast Boy," Robin patted him on the shoulder kindly. "I think we've all been there. But rest assured, there's nothing between me and Raven except a couple of brainwaves."

"Do you…?" his voice squeaked as he fidgeted nervously. "Do you think maybe Raven feels something about me? I mean, you can read her mind, right?"

"Not quite," Robin answered gently. "I just get flashes of her feelings or thoughts, unless I'm trying really hard, and even then, it's not easy to sort everything out." The green changeling visibly deflated with a sigh. Robin smiled and continued, "But I do know that I think you'd be very good for her, even if she's not ready to see it yet."

"Yeah, you know, you might be the only person I know who could put a little light into Raven's dark world, little tofu-eating runt that you are," Cyborg joked, standing up and bopping Beast Boy on the head.

"Hey!" he squawked. Then, his face going slack with surprise, "You-you mean it? You think I could help her?" The bionic Titan nodded and Beast Boy's voice turned wistful. "I'd like that. I like seeing her happy. I mean, really happy. And if I could help her be happy, then even if she didn't want me for other things, at least she would be okay, and that's all I really care about, Raven being okay…" Beast Boy trailed off into a stuttering, blushing idiot, remembering that he was not alone with his thoughts. Both Cyborg and Robin were grinning at him with wide, teasing, friendly expressions.

"I…think I'm just gonna go now, okay? Bye!" and Beast Boy was off like a shot.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Dick asked Cyborg.

"A good idea? Maybe, maybe not," he answered. Then he fixed his human eye on Dick, seeming to see more than he did when Robin hid behind his mask. "But just like with you and Star, it's right even if it isn't smart. Right for everybody."

"Even you?"

Cyborg smiled. "Yeah, even me. This team's the only family I've got. Of course I want to see you all happy." Then he glared. "But don't ever let me catch you in the backseat of my car with Starfire or you're gonna get it, bro."

Dick laughed. "Deal."

"So, what now?"

"Well, we should probably regroup and see if we can figure out what the Metabreed are doing teaming up with Slade. But it'll take a few more hours for the computer to finish running its scans. Until then, just get ready for the next fight, I guess."

"Well, then I'm going to see if I can calibrate my sonic cannon to be even more unfriendly for Ebon," Cyborg decided, heading towards the workshop.

"Good idea."

"Hey, Dick?"

Dick looked up, still not quite used to being called by his proper name. "Yeah?"

Cyborg smiled at him over his shoulder. "Go see your girl. You look like you could use some cheering up."

"I…yeah. I think I will." With a smile that he hoped wasn't as shy as it felt, he added, "Thanks."

But even as he walked off, feeling more at ease in heart from talking about something other than Slade and his own dark thoughts for a while, Dick wondered at himself.

"If Raven can trust me because she can read my mind, I can trust her. And if I trust her, then I can trust the team. But even Raven doesn't trust Batman. I was so sure he was proud of me before. I don't want Slade to be right, but what happens if he is?"

-==OOO==-

With the end of his last meeting of the day, Bruce Wayne put in a call to Alfred.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm going out from here. I've got a lead I want to track down myself."

"Understood, sir," Alfred replied. Then, after a brief pause, "Shall I alert Master Dick or Master Tim?"

"No," Bruce shook his head. "No, I don't want them involved yet."

"Very good, sir."

As he cut the connection and strode to the part of his office that served as a false front against the hidden bunker behind it, considered the disapproving hint in Alfred's words. Alfred would never say so except when both in person and in private, but Bruce always knew when Alfred thought he was making a mistake.

"The mistake," he told himself as he slid out of the persona of Bruce Wayne and into Batman, "would be in letting that man anywhere near my city or my boys ever again. Nobody threatens what is mine to protect. _Nobody_."

In a matter of minutes, Batman was on the hunt.

-==OOO==-

Beast Boy didn't hesitate. He didn't dare. If he didn't go – _now_ – he might not go at all. And somehow it helped not being on his own territory for this. If he crashed and burned, he felt pretty sure it would be easier to go back to the Tower and forget it had ever happened and leave his broken heart in a gloomy mansion in Gotham City.

He knew Raven had left her room and was elsewhere in the house without checking his communicator – somehow, ever since Trigon, Beast Boy had always been able to find Raven. Whether that was him tracking her with scent as many animals did or something else didn't really matter. All that mattered was his pounding heart as he pushed open the big wooden door to a library. Raven sat, floating in midair, looking out two-story windows at the approaching dark over the eastern sea.

"Rae…Raven?" he called quietly.

"Go away, Beast boy."

"No, I want to talk to you about something." Finding his courage, he stepped closer and actually moved around her so he could peer up at her.

Raven's eyes were closed and her face was composed. "I already know what you think you want to talk about."

"Oh, you-you do?" he felt his heart drop into his toes.

"Yes."

"Um, are you sure?"

"You want to tell me that you have feelings for me."

Raven's eyes opened and she fixed her clear, straight gaze on Beast Boy. The changeling gaped at her, seized with half a desire to run and half to make a joke. Somehow, he held still.

"Don't look so surprised. I am an empath, you know," Raven told him. Her voice wasn't unkind, but her expression was closed and unreadable even to him.

Beast Boy shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Oh. Okay. Um, so…what do you think?"

"You know I can't let this happen." The unreadable expression went even colder somehow.

Beast Boy charged ahead. "What do you mean?"

"I already found out once that I can't do this. I can't do feelings like affection or…love. It's too dangerous, for me and for everyone else. I won't risk it," Raven said.

Beast Boy clenched his hands into fists, remembering Malchior all too well and hating him. And also hating himself for making that whole situation worse. He had to set things right or he might miss his only chance. Without thinking, he blurted out whatever came to mind.

"But it doesn't have to be dangerous this time! I'm not some creepy dragon who's going to try to destroy you! I'm not Trigon! I…I couldn't hurt you. Not you." The last came out as a whisper and he dropped his eyes to the floor. "I couldn't hurt you, Raven," he repeated.

"Yes, you could, but that's not the point. I just can't, Beast Boy." Something in Raven's tone was so warm he looked up quickly – quick enough to spot the briefest thaw to softness in her face before she regained her own control.

Beast Boy pounced on it. "Wait…does that mean you DO have feelings for me? That you do feel something and can't let yourself? Or do you really just think of me as a friend.?"

"Just…a friend, Beast Boy. That's all." Raven closed her eyes.

"I don't believe you."

She sighed. "You don't have to believe me. This is what I'm saying and this is how it's going to be."

"But why? When we could both be happy?" Something was changing, something was happening, Beast Boy could feel it. He knew Raven wanted him to back down, but he stubbornly refused to give up. Not this time. Not on her.

"You don't know we would be happy. It's not worth the risk." Her tone was flatly even and Beast Boy hated it.

He actually took a step forward, close enough that he could have touched her. But instead he spoke from the heart. "Yes it is! It's always worth the risk! Isn't that why we became heroes in the first place, so that people could live their lives, could find happiness, without bad guys ruining it for them? Just because our job is to make sure other people get to find love doesn't mean we can't do it, too!"

Raven's face didn't crack and she didn't open her eyes. But she dipped ever so slightly in her levitation.

Beast Boy pressed on. "You know I'm right, Raven. Isn't it worth a try?"

"No, it's not."

Suddenly Beast Boy was afraid. Afraid of what he didn't know. But he wasn't afraid of rejection this time, not of losing a person he cared about. This fear was much more present than that, much more immediate. Somehow, even if he didn't understand it, he was afraid for Raven. And that meant he would do anything.

"Please, Raven. Please think about this," he begged.

"I have, Beast Boy. I have made my decision. I'm sorry."

Abruptly Raven floated up, phasing through the ceiling with a flash of power. Beast Boy could have followed her, could have chased her down, but instead he stared at the spot where she had disappeared. Where he felt pretty sure he had seen a crack in her composure – and behind that crack had been pain. Whatever reason Raven had for her answer, it wasn't one she _wanted_ to give, Beast Boy was sure of it. And if that was true, then he had to trust her reason, but never believe in it.

Whether she could hear him or not, he said to the empty space, "…I won't give up on you. I promise, Raven. I'll never give up on you."

-==OOO==-

Starfire sat perched on the counter. "I believe I now understand why we have _the chores_ ," she said.

"You mean Dick makes you wash dishes, too?" Tim asked, rubbing at some splashed soapy water on one cheek with the dry part of his sleeve.

"Master Dick was always highly disciplined," Alfred said with a small smile. "And he understood well the value of hard work that is both meticulous in nature and mundane in craft."

Starfire tipped her head. "Cyborg once attempted to build us a robotic maid to clean up our many messes. Robin was quite upset and said that we all shared in the responsibility for our home. Is this what he learned from you?"

"I certainly would be flattered were that the case," Alfred replied, "but I believe that was instilled in him long before he ever came into this house."

"Did you know Robin's parents?" Starfire wanted to know.

Tim cringed, and Alfred spoke quickly. "I did not, I am afraid." Then, almost too casually, "If I may ask, Miss Starfire, why do you still refer to Master Dick as Robin?"

Starfire frowned. "Have I done something wrong?" She leaned out to peer at where Tim was staring hard at the sink. "I am sorry if I have not understood another Earth custom."

"It's okay," Tim said, his back tight and ramrod straight. "I'm just…I got used to being the only Robin here, I guess."

"I suppose I did not consider that Robin is anyone but Robin," Starfire said. "I am Starfire, and Raven is Raven. And Cyborg…" She stopped. "Does Cyborg have another name? I know that Beast Boy does."

"Would I be correct in supposing that among your people a warrior goes by one name only?" Alfred asked.

Starfire nodded. "To adopt another name would be to show cowardice and shame."

"Ah. There are those like yourself and like Miss Raven who have only one name and no fear of it being known. But there are also those like Master Bruce who would not wish their identity as Batman to be linked with their life as Bruce Wayne. Master Bruce can do much more good when his foes do not know where to find him. I believe you have had your own troubles when your enemies came for your home."

"And Robin was like this as well? Hiding his true name and his home to keep safe?"

"As well as to protect Master Bruce himself," Alfred said. "Imagine the danger to them both if someone thought the way to hurt Bruce Wayne or Batman was to hurt the boy who went to the local high school under the name Dick Grayson."

"I believe I see," Starfire said, forehead creased. She looked at Tim. "I am sorry for confusing you. But Robin…my Robin," she corrected, "I have only known as Robin. It is who he is."

"No," Tim shook his head. "Dick is the real person. Robin is who he becomes when he wears the mask."

"You're wrong," Starfire crossed her arms. "Even when he does not wear the mask, he is still Robin. If anything, it is Dick Grayson who is the false identity. Even asleep or hurt or out of uniform, he is always Robin."

Tim looked at Starfire carefully. "I think you might be right," he said. "I wonder if that's a good thing."

"If you ask me," Alfred put in, "I believe it does not matter. I know him as Master Dick for I knew him before he had become Robin. But you are correct that he is the same driven, loyal, courageous defender of all that is right no matter his guise. He did not adopt 'Robin' falsely – rather, I believe he embraced it in himself fully."

Tim wiped his hands on a towel. "And me?"

"You, Master Tim," Alfred looked at him, "are always Tim even when you are Robin. But you are also much younger than Master Dick was when he first began in this battle. I believe only time shall tell in the end which is the stronger in you – Tim or Robin."

Suddenly Starfire was struck by a question. "And which is Batman?"

Alfred looked away, but he answered her. "Master Bruce was not always Batman. He became Batman when he was very young, and now it is Bruce Wayne who is the mask." Then he fixed his eyes on Tim. "But it is Master Bruce who is your father, not Batman. And you must not forget it. It is the only thing that keeps him from becoming lost in himself."

Alfred dipped his head politely to the pair who were exchanging glances and left the kitchen. Outside, he put a hand on Dick's shoulder where the young man was leaning against the wall – listening and thinking.

"You know it better than Tim," he said softly. "You know Master Bruce needs you to be his son just as Batman needs a Robin at his side. It gives them both something to protect – and love."

"Yeah," Dick said through a dry throat. "Yeah, I know."

"Do not doubt yourself, my boy," Alfred told him. "And do not doubt Master Bruce. You are both too stubborn to be beaten by the shadows of doubt."

Dick sighed. "I'll try, Alfred."

"That has always been enough," Alfred replied stepping away. But his gaze never left Dick's eyes. "It has always been enough for me, and it has always been enough for your mentor."

"Which one?"

Alfred smiled slightly. "Both of them, Master Dick. Both of them."

-==OOO==-

Cyborg was just finishing tinkering with a portion of his cannon when there was a beeping from the main computer console. He set down his tools and made his way over.

"Looks like some kind of alarm," he said. Spotting the flashing button, he pushed it.

Suddenly a chilling, familiar voice filled the cave.

"Hello, Robin. It seems your former master has lost his way. I would be happy to return him to you, for a price. You know what I want. Meet me on the roof of the old Gotham train station. I won't order you to come alone because you'll merely disobey me. But I will not be alone, either. You have one hour before I let my associates take their own revenge."

Cyborg punched the built-in Titans communicator in his arm. "Titans! We got serious trouble here! Slade's got Batman!"


	10. Mutual Burdens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we go. I hope this has been worth the wait!
> 
> Enjoy!

"I hope you realize that this is not the most strategically sound plan," Tim said quietly.

"I know," Dick replied, "but it's the only one with any hope of winning."

"Really?" Even with the mask, Tim's incredulous expression was clear. "'Cause it looks to me like this is the one way we're guaranteed to be weakest, not strongest. Why are you pitting us against someone who can beat us instead of dividing up the team better and compensating for people's liabilities?"

Dick looked straight ahead stalwartly. "Because something I've learned with the Titans is never to underestimate what people can do when there's a personal stake in it. Should we have switched with the others and let them handle this? Maybe. But they can't save our father the way we can. They might be more powerful, but in the end, we'll want it more."

"You're letting your emotions decide for you," Tim accused. "You're blinded by wanting to be the hero and making a call based on pride instead of being rational like we've both been taught."

Dick shook his head. "I'm not blind because of my emotions – I'm stronger."

"You're risking Batman's life here."

"That's where you're wrong." Dick finally looked at his counterpart. "I'm risking _everyone's_ lives here."

Together, they dropped from their perch a few buildings away to swing onto the roof where Slade was waiting.

-==OOO==-

"Okay, somebody tell me again why the Robins are all the way up there with Slade and we're down here on the ground floor!" Beast Boy waved his arms with aggravation.

"Because Slade won't be expecting it," Cyborg told him. "He figures we'll all show up there guns a-blazing."

"Which we probably SHOULD because duh!" Beast Boy replied. "What about Hotbutt and that flying girl and all the Slade-bots? They're probably up there, too!"

"I too think we should be with the Robins," Starfire said. "The danger to them is much greater."

"This is something our Robin has to face on his own," Raven said suddenly. "Slade is his burden to bear, and he has to overcome him in his own way."

"Like you and Ebon?" Starfire asked.

Raven's eyes were cold and hard in the shadow of her cloak. "Exactly."

"Don't worry, Raven," Cyborg told her, holding up his cannon. "I'll keep him off you." Then he looked ahead. "Come on. That tracker in Batman's uniform puts him somewhere in the middle of the building. Robin – both Robins – are counting on us to get him out safe."

As Cyborg followed the signal and Starfire cleared the path of the debris of the ruined buildings, only Beast Boy was hanging back enough to catch Raven's low, almost whispered words.

"No, Cyborg. You won't keep him off me and you're not supposed to. Just like with Trigon, you can't stop him." She sighed. "And maybe I can't, either."

-==OOO==-

"Ah, Robin. And – Robin. How nice of you to be prompt," Slade pushed away from the turbine to face the pair. "I'm surprised that you've come without your super-powered friends, though."

"We don't need super powers to beat you, Slade," the elder Robin's voice dripped with fury.

"Tell us where Batman is," the younger Robin demanded tightly.

"All in good time, boys," Slade stretched languidly. "I am, of course, fully aware that the rest of the Titans are tracking his signal now and walking straight into my trap." He stopped and cocked his head to one side. "And you know that, don't you, Robin?"

The Robin he had been addressing, the Titans' Robin, nodded sharply. "This is the confrontation you wanted all along. Me and you."

"Us and you," the younger Robin corrected.

"So I figured I'd give you what you want," the first Robin finished. "Save us all a lot of time."

"That's very considerate of you, Robin. A quality I thoroughly appreciate and look forward to when you return to your place at my side." Slade moved with a slithering smoothness across the rooftop towards them. "That is the price of your former mentor's life, after all."

"Yeah, about that," the elder Robin tensed and readied himself.

"It's a little too steep for us," the younger Robin said.

"A word from me and Batman will die at the hands of the Metabreed, who, I assure you, would be very eager for the prestige that would come with such a feat," Slade said, almost within striking range. "And you cannot risk your precious team against the Metabreed, not without facing the possibility of losing them."

"Maybe," the first Robin said. "But I risk losing them all the time. I risk losing Batman, too. And you know what?" He smirked. "Somehow, it always works out."

There was a blast from below and the building shook on its foundations.

"See?" the younger Robin taunted with a grin. "I think the Breed are pretty busy right now."

"If this is your choice, so be it!" Slade began to charge. "Defeat is just another kind of surrender!"

"Yeah, it is," the elder Robin dropped into a defensive stance beside his counterpart. "But we'll see who gets defeated this time!"

Like twin shadows, the Robins attacked.

-==OOO==-

The original Gotham train station was a building more than a dozen stories tall, dwarfing the smaller offices around it just past the edge of the city's major business and financial district. It had once been an impressive, imposing edifice and the pride of the city, but, like much of Gotham, had been worn down by time and the unsavory element until it was barely recognizable. Nonetheless, it still had some remarkable architectural facets, from gargoyle rain-spouts to high Art Deco moldings to the now-green copper roof.

And inside, on the main concourse level that overlooked the abandoned tracks that had once carried the heartbeat of the city, a massive four-story mural crafted of interlocking metal pieces and tiles depicted the city of Gotham as it had been at the time. Discolored with age and tarnished from lack of care, the raised relief stretched several dozen yards wide over an open atrium. Parts of it, especially at the bottom, had been torn off by looters long before, but the top almost three stories up remained largely untouched.

Except where Hotstreak had melted the metal to form molten manacles that held Batman fast against the wall, his hands and forearms encased and his feet barely perched upon a tiny ledge to spare his shoulders the strain.

Cyborg spotted him at once. "Titans go! You know the plan!"

The other three fanned out, Starfire launching herself into the air after Hotstreak while Cyborg began cutting down the small army of Slade-bots and Beast Boy winged after Talon in the dome above.

Raven appeared beside Batman.

"Ebon is here," he said shortly. "You must…"

"I know," Raven told him. She gathered a solid black sphere into the air and settled it around Batman, beginning to gently pull at the restraints. "That's the point. He and I have something to finish together."

"You reconsidered my offer," came the deep voice. "I knew you would."

"Not a chance," Raven told him.

The dark coils shot from the wall only inches from where Raven's protection around Batman stopped. She dodged them and blasted back, luring him after her down one of the broad concourses. When they were farther away, the sphere around Batman winked out of existence.

"Do not fear, Friend of Robin," Starfire appeared beside Batman and expertly yanked the metal cuffs from the wall, steadying him when his balance faltered as soon as he was free. "There is a plan."

"Where are Robin and Robin?" Batman demanded.

"Facing Slade," Starfire told him. "And I carry their words to you."

Batman paused in the act of launching a grappling hook long enough to look at her, his expression pinched and narrow. "And what did they say?"

Starfire held his eyes with the firmness of her will that she rarely troubled to show. "They wished you to know that this is their fight and they do not want you to join them. There is something they can only learn together against Slade. If you must fight, help us here until Robin signals us."

Batman glowered at her. "I don't take orders from you _or_ Robin."

"It is not an order," Starfire replied. "It is a request, and one you should respect. The Robins trust you to understand them. Please do not prove them wrong."

Batman eyed the situation in the room, the chaos as the Slade-bots fell and Talon and Hotstreak teamed up against Cyborg with Beast Boy working to assist him, and looked back at Starfire. "I'll do what I think is best, and so must you. Now go help your friends."

And he jumped from the wall to swing into the shadows and disappeared.

Starfire was about to take off after him when a shout from Cyborg pulled her attention away and she dove to intercept a blast from Hotstreak while he fended off Talon.

"He is gone," Starfire told Cyborg.

"I know," he replied, settling in back-to-back with her as they blasted their opponents. "Can't say I'm totally surprised."

"But Robin asked…"

"Star, even we don't always do what Robin asks," Cyborg pointed out wryly. "What makes you think the Dark Knight himself would be any different?"

Suddenly Beast Boy dropped down beside them, flipping out of the form of a hawk. "Where'd Raven go?" he asked.

"I dunno!" Cyborg swept his arm to the side and fried a few more Slade-bots, though Hotstreak dodged him. "I lost track of her."

"WHAT?" Beast Boy's eyes went huge. "You left her to deal with Ebon ALONE? What's WRONG with you?"

Starfire blasted a starbolt at one of the smaller decorative pillars, bringing it down and knocking Talon to the ground beneath it. When she turned to Beast Boy, her eyes were calm and solemn. "That is not a fight we can help her with."

Beast Boy glared at her, drawing his shoulders up and holding himself at his full height. "That's what you think." And he stalked off into the crowd, following an instinct he could not deny.

Cyborg glanced at Starfire. "Do you think we should go after her with him, too?"

Starfire shook her head. "No. If Raven cannot defeat the Ebon alone, then only Beast Boy will be able to help her." She smiled very slightly. "We do not have his power to make her stronger."

Cyborg smiled too. "You're probably right about that." He turned back to the rest of the room. "So let's make sure we do our part to give everybody the time they need to win."

"Agreed." And Starfire threw herself into the battle with determined abandon.

-==OOO==-

Beast Boy followed Raven outside to what looked like had once been a decorative fountain and now seemed as dead and rotting as most of the rest of the building. Raven was hovering in the air, her dark power around her, beating back a pulsing shadow that seemed to be trying to consume her.

"Raven!" he cried before shifting to a pterodactyl to fall screaming on Ebon.

"Beast Boy! Don't!" Raven shouted. "Get back!"

That moment of distraction was all it took – Ebon swelled hugely and engulfed Raven, reminding Beast Boy of nothing so much as a shark seizing its prey. The choked-off cry of Raven's fright echoed weirdly in the now-empty courtyard.

Beast Boy dropped in human form. "Raven! No!"

And then, before he could think about it or talk himself out if it, he threw himself into the void that was Ebon to follow wherever Raven had gone.

-==OOO==-

Slade lashed out with a vicious kick, driving the smaller of the Robins away as he regained his footing. But the Robin he coveted did not give him even a moment to recover, striking on his blind side with a sharp punch. Slade was forced to retreat a few paces.

"It is an interesting experience, fighting the two of you," he told them. "The influence of Batman is unmistakable, and yet you are so different as well."

"Well, we're the same in that neither of us wants to be your apprentice," the younger Robin proclaimed.

"Don't flatter yourself, child," Slade said cuttingly. "You aren't worth the trouble yet."

"Yeah?" the elder Robin put in. "Well, neither am I. And you know how much trouble I can be, Slade. When are you going to learn that you're never going to get me to work for you again?"

"Oh, I will," Slade promised. "I only need the correct…incentive."

Slade drew out a detonator and held it. "Your precious Batman is wired with explosives, enough to bring down the building. Surrender to me now or I will destroy him and the rest of your beloved team in an instant."

The younger Robin faltered, but the first Robin faced Slade evenly. "Go ahead."

"You don't care for your former mentor anymore? How nice," Slade said.

The first Robin actually smiled. "No, it isn't that. But I know my team won't let you blow him up."

"Your team could be destroyed by now," Slade pointed out. "Certainly Ebon will prove a dangerous adversary for our dear little Raven."

"Maybe," Robin said, and he fought not to follow the tiny tendrils of his connection to Raven, not when he needed to keep focused in the here and now, "but I trust them. I trust them to save themselves and I trust them to save Batman and I trust them to save the city or the world or the universe if it comes to it. They've never let me down and they're not going to start now!"

Slade shrugged. "As you wish, then."

He triggered the detonator.

-==OOO==-

Raven was losing her battle on two different fronts.

"Come on, girl. Let go. Let me in. You _know_ you want to. You _know_ you wanna give me _everything_ ," whispered the sibilant, persuasive voice in her mind. Raven was keeping herself separate from Ebon but only just. And with every instant she remained within his power, his influence over her was growing. It was getting harder and harder to hold onto herself.

Which was made infinitely worse because the demonic part of Raven's nature was also breaking through. Had she been corporeal, she would have been looking at the world through four red eyes. Sliding right alongside Ebon's desire was a piece of Raven's own mind, urging her to give in, to accept, to embrace Ebon and his evil and release her full potential. The malice and hate and cruelty in Ebon met the same in Raven's soul and fed it, strengthened it, fanned its flames enough to consume what remained of Raven in a wash of venomous malevolence.

It ate at her like acid, and she could feel herself coming apart, her mind literally shattering and melting into the darkness around her.

"Azarath…Metri…Aza…" she tried to focus on the words. Words that were supposed to mean something. Weren't they?

Did it matter what they meant?

Was there a point?

No, probably not.

"…surrender to the dark within you…"

Raven's mind rose in one last, fitful attempt at defiance. "I don't…want…"

"Yes you do."

"…Do I?"

"Yesssssssssss…"

And Raven's mind would have been lost in that instant if not for a sudden cry, panicked and high and frightened.

"RAVEN!"

She regathered herself a little. "Who…who's there?"

"No one. Nothing. Nothing matters. Let go. Embrace the darkness," whispered that lulling presence

"Raven! I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here! Don't give up! You don't want to be like Ebon!"

"…I know that voice…"

"Please, Raven! You're way stronger than Ebon. I know you are! You can't let him do this to you!"

"…Beast Boy…?" Something stirred in her foggy awareness.

"He is nothing. He means nothing. And he can give you nothing."

"Hey, I heard that! You're just an overdeveloped tar pit, or maybe a snot pit!"

Raven felt the touch of something like light reach her.

"You are NOTHING!"

"Maybe that's true, but that doesn't mean I can't give Raven something better than you. All you have is evil and oblivion. But me…I…"

Raven stirred slightly.

"There's nothing you can say that can save her now. She's almost mine."

"No, she's not!" Beast Boy's voice was clear and loud and steady. "She's not yours or her father's. Raven belongs to herself!" And then, almost angrily with the echo of a beast that lived in the shadows of his own soul, "Raven belongs to the Titans way more than she'd ever belong to you no matter what you to do her! She loves us and we love her!"

"Do you? Can you really expect me to believe you love a monster like her?"

"Yes. She's _not_ a monster. She's a hero and she's my friend. Way more than my friend." Beast Boy's voice seemed very far away and also so close he could have been wrapped around her. "You hear that, Raven? The Titans love you and I love you. Please don't give up."

And from somewhere buried deep in the suffocating shadow, something powerful began to glow.

"My friends…love me. And I love them."

"Raven! Is that you? Can you hear me? I'm right here, Raven!"

"Beast Boy loves me. He…loves me. And I…"

There was a tremendous surge of power that ran through her, as it had only once before.

"No! You're a demon! Your soul is dark and mean. Remember?"

"I remember, Ebon," Raven's mind was steady. "I remember being powerless, and finding a new power inside myself. I remember where that power came from. And it wasn't from evil. It wasn't from cruelty. It wasn't my father's."

"Raven!"

"It's all right, Beast Boy," she sent. "Ebon can't hurt me now."

"But I can hurt HIM. And I will. Back off and give me what I want or you'll never see your little boy-toy again!"

There was a strangled sort of shriek of sudden pain. Beast Boy's pain.

"That's your only warning, Raven. Give up or he will be sorry!"

"Raven…don't do it…not for me," Beast Boy pleaded.

"Don't be afraid, Beast Boy. This might be Ebon's dimension, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let him win. Trust me."

She could feel his words before he spoke them. "Of course I trust you, Raven. More than anybody. And…I also…"

"I know, Beast Boy." And she did.

That leaping, potent feeling fueled Raven with the power of a thousand galaxies and she embraced it. Just as when she had defeated Trigon with the force of her friends' conviction and courage and loyalty burning through her, once again she rose up with all the strength of a heart filled with unsurpassable emotion. Raven's powers had always been fed by her feelings, which was why she kept them so carefully in check. But now, when that emotion aligned with her will so perfectly, it made her _transcendent_.

A white bird flared in a reality that had no sight.

Ebon screamed.

And Beast Boy plopped onto the hard ground, blinking up into the air. "Raven?"

She hung in the Gotham sky, arms stretched wide, glowing with light. Before her, the roiling, shadowy presence of Ebon fought to escape.

"I'm not what you thought I was," Raven told him. "I'm not what _I_ thought I was."

She looked down and watched as Beast Boy got to his feet, their eyes locked.

"I know what you are," Beast Boy said quietly. "I can't explain it, but I know it." And he put a hand on his chest. Then, with a grimace, "I'm still probably going to be stupid about it sometimes."

"I know that. But you'll mean well."

"Yeah. And I'll never really forget it, either. When you can't see it in yourself, I'll try to find it for you again." He suddenly grinned. "I'm a really good tracker, you know!" And Beast Boy promptly changed just his nose to the long snout of a bloodhound.

Raven smiled a tiny smile. "We're having a moment. You're ruining it again."

"Yeah, it's what I do," Beast Boy replied as his face returned to normal. Then, a little more seriously, "That's okay? Right? That I'm…kinda goofy?"

"I think the world could use a little more goofy sometimes," Raven told him. "Sometimes," she emphasized.

"Oh. Uh, that's good then, right?"

"You're goofy and I'm creepy. But inside…" Raven trailed off.

"Where it really matters…" Beast Boy added.

Together, "We're the same."

Raven turned her attention back to Ebon. "And trust me Ebon, you're never gonna beat him in a fight if you can't beat me. So I'll just spare you making a fool of yourself."

She drew her power in with a great rush. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

There was a bright flash. When Beast Boy uncovered his eyes, Ebon was gone.

"Whoa! Where'd he go?" he asked, looking around.

Raven dropped lightly to the ground, facing him. "I sent him to another dimension, one he shouldn't have an easy time getting out of."

Beast Boy shivered. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"He might get out someday," she admitted, "but if he ever comes back here, we'll be able to handle him."

"Yeah!" Then Beast Boy swallowed a little nervously. "We?"

"As long as you help me remember," Raven met his eyes intently. "As long as you…" Sudden uncertainty crept into her face and she started to back away.

Beast Boy darted forward and caught her hands. "Please don't," he told her. "Don't be scared of me, Raven. I told you before. I won't hurt you."

"Do you promise?" Her voice was soft, almost childlike, and Beast Boy could see the vulnerability in her eyes.

"I promise, Raven," he drew her a little closer. "I promise I won't hurt you. And I won't leave you."

Raven pushed forward and put her arms around Beast Boy. This time, he didn't shake her off – instead, he held her tightly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I said I didn't care about you as much as I do. I was afraid."

"I know," he said. "I can't blame you for being scared. But…don't be scared of me anymore, okay? It's going to be all right."

"I believe you," Raven said. And then, because she was holding him and being held and it was easier when he wasn't looking, she tucked her forehead against his shoulder and breathed, "I love you, too, Beast Boy."

-==OOO==-

"Very good, Robin," Slade approved coolly.

"Did you really just try to bluff us about bombs on Batman?" the younger Robin frowned. "What was the point of that?"

"To see if this Robin had become ruthless enough to callously risk the lives of everyone he holds dear," Slade explained archly. "Really, my boy, you are progressing nicely."

The original Robin actually slammed his palm into his face in exasperation. "Did you even _listen_ to me? Oh, no, of course not. You're too busy being evil to understand the difference between trust and apathy."

"Or perhaps there is no difference," Slade offered.

"Wow," the younger Robin turned to his counterpart. "He really doesn't get it, does he?"

"Nope," Robin confirmed. "But, in his defense, he's kind of insane. Let's explain it to him."

This time when they attacked, they flowed together in a formation Batman had designed and drilled into both of them, a strategic pattern of attack that took advantage of the fact that two fighters who trusted one another were also formidable in their own right. The elder Robin took the lead position that was usually Batman's, the younger Robin falling into his role easily. They did not take turns attacking so much as they attacked as a single unit – when one struck, the other was prepared for Slade's block or counterattack to make use of even the smallest opening.

Slade defended admirably for several seconds, almost causing the Robins to punch one another in the process, when suddenly he mistimed a dodge and his balance wobbled ever so slightly.

And in that instant, the younger Robin landed a forceful kick that knocked him backwards to the waiting first Robin.

"Game over, Slade," Robin told him. Then he delivered an upper-cut blow that brought Slade to the ground – and he did not rise.

The pair of Robins didn't waste time congratulating themselves; rather, they pulled out their best sets of unpickable handcuffs and secured Slade with what might be considered excessive care. But, then again, Slade had overpowered Batman. That warranted some special treatment.

"What are you going to do with him?" the younger Robin asked when they had restrained Slade to within an inch of his life. "Take him back to Jump City?"

"No," the older Robin shook his head. "Jump City isn't really built to hold guys like him. I kind of think he needs to get locked up in Arkham if they'll take him." He looked up. "What do you think?"

Batman strode out of the shadows. "I'll see to it."

The younger Robin glanced up at his mentor. "I was starting to wonder when you were going to pop out."

Batman might have smiled except he never did. "How long did you know I was there?"

"Since Slade showed us that fake detonator."

Batman turned to his first ward. "And you?"

"A lot sooner," the elder Robin admitted, triple-checking Slade's restraints. "But I've got more practice looking for friends in shadows."

"Speaking of which," Batman said, "I am surprised you sent Raven into a situation in which she might very well have been defeated, even destroyed."

"That's what I said," the other Robin shook his head. "We should have gone after you and let all the super-powered Titans handle Slade and Ebon – except Raven, obviously."

"Tell me, Robin, why did you make that choice?" Batman asked. "And why hold me back as well?"

The Titans' leader straightened up and faced Batman proudly.

"I know my team. I knew you would be safe with them, safer than anywhere else. I knew I could trust you with the people I trust with my own life. And as for Raven and Ebon," he smiled slightly. "Let's just say that Raven is a lot stronger than she realizes, and sometimes she needs to be reminded of that."

Batman took a few steps forward and put a hand on the Titans' Robin's shoulder. "And you're a lot stronger than either of us realizes sometimes," he said softly. "Thank you for reminding me as well."

"Is that why you didn't step in against Slade?"

Batman shook his head. "No. I didn't step in not so you could prove your strength to me, but so you could prove it to him. So that Slade would know better than to test you another time, because he doesn't have what it takes to defeat you anymore."

"How touching," came Slade's dry voice, only slightly groggy from his return to consciousness. The younger Robin was poised to kick him, but Batman waved him off.

"I will handle him from here."

"Such a ringing endorsement of your apprentices," Slade drawled. "You allow them to risk your life, but you fail to trust them to do something as simple as arrest me."

"Go meet up with the Titans," Batman ordered his Robins icily, and after a brief, nervous glance, they obeyed, leaping from the rooftop in unison. There was an undercurrent in that order that both knew all too well, that it was not their place to interfere, that what came next was for Batman alone – and they respected it. Only when they were clear did the Dark Knight turn to Slade.

"Are you going to attempt to intimidate me?" Slade asked, shifting around and rolling his neck as he tested his restraints. "I assure you, I'm quaking with fear."

"No threats," Batman said. Then he loomed over the man, leaning close. "Just a promise."

Slade made a tiny, near-invisible move to pick-pocket Batman's belt, and Batman promptly broke his fingers. Slade sucked in a pained breath in surprise.

"I'm taking you to Arkham and locking you in the deepest, darkest cell they have," Batman grated, his voice low and menacing. "And I make you this vow. If you ever, _ever_ see the light of day again, I will _end_ _you_ before you even know I'm there."

Slade chuckled, though it sounded a little weak. "That's a lot of trouble for a Robin you don't even want…"

He never got farther than that. Batman moved faster than even Slade could follow, pinning the villain to the rooftop and crushing his throat under his foot.

"I'm only going to say this once. Gotham is _mine_. My current Robin is _mine_. _And my former Robin is mine_. Anything you even _imagine_ for him I will take out of your skin tenfold. If you _ever_ threaten him or his team again, I will make you wish you had stayed dead and then I _will_ put you in the ground _myself_."

He ground his heel, smirking almost genially at the strangled cough from Slade. "Now, are you going to Arkham quietly or do I need to prove that I'm serious?"

Slade shifted his weight and gurgled something low.

Batman nodded just once. "Have it your way."


	11. Always Ourselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to everyone who stuck with me for so many years, trusting that someday I would get my act together and bring this one home. This is for all of you.
> 
> The poem at the end is by e. e. cummings.
> 
> Enjoy!

Dick looked around the room with a smile tugging at his face.

After the battle was over and the Titans had escorted the remaining two members of the Metabreed to Arkham for holding until charges could be filed (or they were shipped back to Dakota), the five young heroes had returned to Wayne Manor. Batman had handled Slade on his own, refusing any help at all, and Tim had vanished with a mysterious grin. The Titans themselves had been fairly exhausted, which didn't stop Cyborg and Starfire from arguing about which of them had gotten the most Slade-bots – and the Titans' Robin made a note to keep them from pairing off on the training course for a while, just in case. But none of them missed how elated Beast Boy looked, nor the happiness shining subtly in Raven's eyes, nor how close they stood to one another even when they did not touch.

And if Cyborg gave Beast Boy a surreptitious high-five, and if Starfire gave Raven an exuberant hug, and if Robin smiled at them both fondly – well, maybe they were all just in a good mood. They had been friends and teammates too long to need to ask or declare anything; when Raven rolled her eyes at one of Beast Boy's jokes but then smiled softly and took his hand, that said all that needed saying.

But they had returned to the manor to wind down and all ended up together in the game room sprawled all over the couches and cushions. Raven had settled in to meditate with a tiny green kitten curled up in her lap. Robin and Cyborg had played a few rounds of a video game before Cyborg yawned hugely and stretched out right where he was to nap. Robin found his head pillowed on Starfire's thigh, his eyes closing against his will. And Starfire ran a hand through his hair and hummed something soft.

"Wait," Robin had muttered. He took Starfire's fingers in his own and guided them to his mask. "Go ahead," he told her.

With infinite gentleness, Starfire had drawn off the mask, her fingers tracing over his exposed skin. Robin had fallen asleep while Starfire smiled over him.

Many hours later, they roused to Tim announcing food was waiting in one of the dining rooms. What they had not expected was a very small yet elaborate party.

Tim and Alfred – and Bruce, who apparently never slept, and that was not news to Dick at all – had set up the room to be bright and cheerful, complete with balloons and a couple of streamers that Dick could tell from an experienced eye had been hung using Batarangs. The spread of food was nothing short of extravagant, each dish carefully labeled with a little placard identifying its ingredients; a few even had a little green smiley face to show they were suitable for Beast Boy. There were no Tamaranean dishes on offer, but Starfire was delighted with the huge pitcher of mustard just for her. One entire table was dedicated to various types of teas, which Alfred seemed to appreciate at least as much as Raven did. Cyborg and Robin stared at everything – all their favorites, including a few things that were not often available to them – and exchanged a whispered debate about whether or not they could claim the leftovers to take back to the Tower.

"You can have anything you want," Tim said, catching them. "I…we…we wanted to do this for you."

"Why?" Raven asked, not sharply but curiously.

It was Alfred who answered. "We ought to have celebrated Master Dick's return properly at the start, but you were all rather busy," he smiled. "Additionally, a job well done always deserves recognition. And," his glance slid to Raven and Beast Boy for the barest of moments before settling back on Dick, "it seems something of a celebration is in order as well."

"Don't be shy about it," Bruce said, his light eyes warm. "Go on. Have fun."

That was all that he needed to say before most of the Titans were off in a rush, laughing and grabbing food and making an amazing amount of noise. They drew Tim in with them, shoving things onto his plate and elbowing him when he didn't move fast enough and joking affectionately with him as if he had always been one of theirs. And Raven was more aloof as always and Dick was conscious of Bruce's eyes upon him, but they still participated in the fun in their own ways.

Later, as things settled, as people went back for seconds and found places to sit where they could watch whatever antics had seized Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy this time, Dick moved to Bruce's side.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Bruce."

"Yes?"

"Why did you call us in to Gotham to deal with the Metabreed? I know you said that Static and Gear were busy, but the more we've been here, the less plausible that sounds. I know you've worked with Static before, and I know you and Tim had dealt with these guys before too. Even if you were out-manned, it still would have made more sense to call in the League than the Titans."

Bruce nodded approvingly. "Very insightful, Dick. No, it was not only because the Dakota pair were busy, nor that I am avoiding Superman again, that I called upon you and your team."

"…Then why?" Dick asked, realizing in that moment how badly he really wanted to know the answer.

"Because," with sudden, startling sincerity and a touch of characteristic sardonic humor, "I missed you and I wanted you home again."

For a moment Dick couldn't respond. But he nodded slowly to show he understood. Finally he said, "I can't stay for long. You know that. Jump City is my home now, even if…even if you're still my father."

"I know. But I'm glad to have you even for a while." Bruce looked at him steadily, unflinchingly.

Dick swallowed a sudden lump in his throat at that, the words and the gesture filling him with something that he couldn't even fully grasp. At just that moment, Starfire appeared.

Dick seized his chance.

"Bruce…" Then, because that wasn't right, he straightened up even more. "Father…I want you to know…that is…"

Starfire took his hand, understanding in her open face.

Dick found his courage again. "Starfire has taught me that I can be more than just Robin, more than just a crime-fighter. She makes me better than I thought I could be. And…I really, really care about her." He looked up into Bruce's eyes. "I wanted you to know what I have. What I found."

Bruce smiled in a way he rarely showed to the world – the smile that proved that the heart that drove Batman was as powerful as the will behind it – and extended his hand to Starfire as if she were a courtly lady.

"I am very happy that you have come into Dick's life, to give him something even I could not," he said seriously. "Thank you for keeping his heart safe."

"I will always protect him," she replied. "His heart and everything else. And he protects me."

Dick squeezed her hand. "Always, Star."

"And should you need it, any of you," Bruce said, "you may call on anything that is mine to give as well. I respect that you have your own city to protect, but sometimes there's value in having another team on the ground, perhaps?"

"No," Starfire shook her head, catching both men by surprise. They exchanged concerned looks.

"Starfire, what…?" Dick began.

"Batman might help us if we need him," Starfire said firmly, "but Bruce Wayne is the only family you have. We will do better about remembering that. We are all far from our own people, but we should do all in our power to keep the closeness we share when we can."

"She's a very wise young lady," Alfred appeared suddenly, a tiny smile at the corners of his eyes. "You would both do well to listen to her."

"If you and Starfire are ganging up on us, we don't stand a chance," Bruce teased Alfred, winking at Dick.

"It is about time someone did!" Alfred sniffed with exaggerated dignity.

Dick grinned, but then turned to look to where Cyborg and Beast Boy and Tim had invented some sort of game that seemed to involve rather a lot of flying food, and Raven watched them with clear amusement, and he shook his head.

"You're mostly right, Star, but you missed something."

"Oh?"

"Bruce Wayne is my family," Dick said, his eyes falling on his adopted father and mentor, "And so is Alfred," he smiled shyly at the man. "But I have more family than that, now." He looked back over his shoulder. Raven turned at just that instant and nodded to him, her touch in his mind as delicate as a butterfly.

Dick turned back. "We all have a family now. We have each other."

-==OOO==-

The Titans stayed in Gotham another week – mostly for the pure fun of it – before they finally returned to Jump City. They brought the Titans East team a huge box of treats before chasing them out of their Tower and reclaiming their home.

Though it would take two weeks to find all the places Mas and Menos had hidden what they called "emergency tacos" and nobody really knew why.

For the most part, the Titans settled quickly back into their usual routine after an absence. Their return to Jump City was heralded by another attack by Doctor Light, whose post-vacation timing was now becoming almost predictable, and this time Raven didn't even have to threaten him before he squeaked in surrender. Robin set about rebuilding the training course at the base of the Tower, adding a few new obstacles and challenges after studying the set at the Batcave. Beast Boy made use of the many cheats and tricks he had learned from Tim and managed to beat Cyborg at most of their video games for the better part of a week. Starfire spoiled Silky rotten, as usual, and took him on some extra walks in the park because apparently none of Titans East really enjoyed having him on a leash in public. Raven had a whole new set of books she'd mysteriously acquired in Gotham, and could almost always be found reading while hovering on the edges of whatever else was happening.

And yet, some things had changed, too.

Robin no longer slept in his mask – though he kept it right by the bed just in case – and sometimes when they were having a movie night or just hanging out together, Starfire would gently tug it off and he would let her. And in those moments, he let himself be Dick instead.

Starfire took quite seriously her words about including Bruce as a member of the family more often, which meant she enforced a strict weekly schedule of secure video calls between the Tower and Wayne Manor. Even if for only a few minutes, she insisted that father and son speak, and often Alfred and Tim and the Titans joined the little conferences. Starfire had left her planet, her home, her people, and she was not sorry about that, but she would not miss a chance to have a family again when it had been offered.

There also started up a regular postal service that passed between the Tower and a secure drop-point which allowed them to send care packages back and forth. Starfire sent Tim samples of her food and her cultural items, most of which confused him even if he was pink when he spoke to her. Robin sent Batman copies of case notes and status reports and sometimes explanations for whatever had happened this time that meant some part of the Tower needed an expensive repair. Alfred and Raven formed a tea exchange; they almost never spoke to one another over the video calls, but a nod of the head or a slight shrug seemed all they needed to communicate. Cyborg and Batman traded schematics and parts, and sometimes Batman would send equipment to Cyborg for fixing or improvement when Bruce was too busy himself. Beast Boy mostly just stuck jokey items in the corners of the boxes for Tim, but he also sent over weird things – a jungle-edition Batman figurine, a pair of sunglasses whose lenses were the size of dinner plates, one lonely sock. And he also sent pictures. Pictures from their work, pictures from hanging out, pictures from candid moments and press releases and late at night when everyone was asleep.

And Robin found that he was glad his father had those pictures, that Alfred and Raven shared tea, that Tim was also dealing with whatever weird alien food Starfire had cooked this week, that Batman and Cyborg were consulting on equipment. He was glad and his only regret was that they hadn't done it sooner.

Cyborg was outwardly the same as ever, except of course the new mechanical projects, but to those who knew him best, he had very subtly changed as well. Beast Boy teasingly called him the T-Chaperone at one point, and they had all laughed, but there was a weird sort of truth to it. Cyborg never took sides when either of the pairs that surrounded him ran into trouble. He never offered advice except when asked, and he was never anything but honest with everyone. Cyborg could smooth over a misunderstanding or pound reality into prideful denial or serve as a friendly ear for doubts and fears – and the other four never forgot it. They didn't do date nights or couples-only outings. They remained as they had always been, five friends, and Cyborg knew that his role as big brother was a big part of why it worked.

And the fateful night Cyborg and Bumble Bee went on one disastrous date that might or might not have ended with burning down part of a sleazy carnival, when Cyborg came stomping home, he found the others waiting with a movie and popcorn and Beast Boy curled up on one side and Starfire leaned against him on the other and Robin and Raven talked about anything and everything until almost dawn and it was all right again.

Beast Boy was happy. He'd always been happy, of course, but now he was happy all the way through as he said himself. He still yelled about video games and whined about practice and snarked at bad guys and shouted about tofu – but he was happy. And whenever no one could find him, they simply tracked Raven to wherever she had settled to meditate and there he would be, quietly nearby, and no matter what he was doing, he was smiling.

Because Raven was happy, too. Not the bouncy, expressive happiness she'd shown for that brief period before Malchior revealed himself as a villainous dragon, but a deeper, more hidden joy was evident. She almost never retreated to her room to meditate anymore, instead opting for a common area that coincidentally tended to have something for Beast Boy to do. She was still quiet and her deadpan dry humor was as sharp as ever, but when there was no one but the Titans to see, she smiled more often. She also shied away from touch less, particularly with Beast Boy but with all of them as well.

Robin asked her about it one day, while the others made some sort of mess in the kitchen.

"I'm not sorry," he said, "but can you tell me what changed? I mean," he blushed very slightly, "other than the obvious, I guess."

Raven regarded him warmly. "My emotions are tied to my powers. You know that."

Robin nodded.

"What I didn't really understand until now was that they aren't only tied to my negative emotions. And…my negative emotions aren't as strong anymore."

Robin's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"I'm still half-demon," Raven anticipated him. "I'll always have that part of my nature and I'll always have to fight to control it. But…" she smiled a very small smile, "it's hard for my father's influence to get much of a foothold with Beast Boy there to give me something else to think about. Something else to feel. Something else to believe in. It makes me…less afraid of myself."

Spontaneously, Robin gave her a quick hug. He laughed at her surprise. "I'm glad, Raven. I'm glad you have that now. And you know that we aren't afraid of you, don't you?"

She nodded. "Of course I do."

The bond in Robin's mind widened a fraction and he understood what Raven wasn't quite saying. Understood that love had made her spirit strong in a way silence and isolation never had, that Beast Boy's infectious joy and laughter had made it easier for Raven to forgive herself, to accept herself. That who she was, what she was, could be defined now by something other than her past and her heritage.

Robin understood that part all too well.

"Are you honestly happy?" he asked very softly.

"I…I think so," Raven told him with almost a touch of shyness. "I don't really know, but I think so." Then she peered at him. "Are you happy?"

Robin let himself grin. "Yeah. I am happy. And…" but he ran out of words to describe what he was feeling.

But Raven knew. Of course she did. She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "We're here. We're together. We're home. That's enough."

And it was.

-==OOO==-

Most evenings, Beast Boy and Raven went up to the roof to watch the sun set over the ocean, feet dangling off the Tower. That night, Beast Boy cautiously took Raven's hand. Her eyes smiled at him and filled him, somehow.

"Raven?"

"Yes, Beast Boy?"

"Uh, I was kinda wondering…would you mind calling me Garfield sometimes?" He blushed even as he said it.

"Why?" she asked, looking at him with a little surprise and a little confusion. She squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"Well, it's my real name, you know? Beast Boy is sort of what I do, but Garfield is…more of who I am. Does that make sense?" His green eyes sought hers. "I want to always be who I am with you, not what I do out there." He gestured to the city's shoreline.

"I'd be honored, Garfield." She smiled then the private smile he had come to understand was her way of grinning and laughing and everything else he did when he couldn't hold it in anymore, and he felt a rush at hearing her call him by his name.

"What about you?" he suddenly asked.

"What about me?"

"Well, don't you have another name besides Raven?" the changeling asked. He had never thought to ask before.

"No," Raven glanced away. "I've always only been Raven. My mother never gave me another name."

Garfield gently put his arms around her. "Do you want another name?" he asked softly.

"No," Raven shook her head. "It's different for you and Robin. For me, being Raven is exactly what I want. I've already spent my whole life being two people – me and my father. Now, because of you, I can finally be Raven without being afraid of anything else."

"That's okay. I guess I'll have to give you one myself, then." He smirked as he said it. Raven looked up at him. "What? You don't want a cutesy nickname?"

"Actually, no," she told him frowning. But a few moments later, she asked, "What kind of name would you give me?"

"One that only I would know. One that would help you be you when we're like this and you don't want to be what you used to be before. Something like this." Smiling even wider, Garfield drew her against his chest and whispered in her ear.

"But…that's…it doesn't suit me. It's not my style." Raven spluttered, but there was no mistaking the blush on her cheeks.

"It does too suit you. You may be Raven to the whole world, but to me, you'll always mean light and hope and peace, all the good and happy things there are. The best thing that ever happened to me. Nothing could be better." He held her tightly, and slowly she relaxed into his cradling arms.

"Thank you," she whispered. She smiled up at him in pure, contented trust, and his heart hammered with unbridled joy.

"Thank you," he told her, "for caring about me. For…letting me care about you."

"Garfield," she said softly, and his heart danced with it, "I feel a lot more than just care about you."

"I know," he said. "That's why I named you…"

"But," she interrupted and caught him in her fierce glare, "if you ever, and I mean _ever_ call me that, I really will send you to another dimension."

Garfield chuckled. "As long as you come with me, I could probably handle that."

"That would _not_ be the point of my banishing you."

And he laughed and leaned against her and gazed out at the ocean for a little while.

Several minutes later, Raven spoke. "But I would, you know. Go with you."

"I know," he said. "Just like I'll go anywhere with you, even the creepiest dimension you can name. Even if it's full of monsters and stuff that smells like old socks and the only food is made of meat."

Raven shook her head but didn't fight the smile that followed the light he always seemed to bring to her heart. "I'll pack you a tofu sandwich."

"I'll pack you a mug of tea." Garfield smiled.

There was a plop and Starfire was on Garfield's other side. "And I shall bring the Tamaranean Pudding of Journeying for us all to share."

"Why is it always pudding?" Robin wondered, sliding in beside her. Then, softly, "I'll bring the breadcrumbs to lead us home."

Cyborg sat beside Raven and nudged her with a friendly elbow, "And I'll bring the waffles since you know we're gonna need waffles."

Raven glanced at her friends. "Is it always going to be like this? We were having a moment. Sort of." But there was amusement in her eyes.

"Pretty much," Robin told her. "I think we're all stuck together now."

And then Garfield looked out at the ocean and began to recite:

_maggy and milly and molly and may  
went down to the beach (to play one day) _

_and maggie discovered a shell that sang  
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and _

_milly befriended a stranded star  
whose rays five languid fingers were; _

_and molly was chased by a horrible thing  
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and _

_may came home with a smooth round stone  
as small as a world and as large as alone. _

_For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)  
it's always ourselves we find in the sea_

But then he glanced around and repeated the last line with an impish grin. "For whatever we lose, like a you or a me," he nudged Raven, "it's always ourselves we'll find in the big giant Titan's Tower T!"

"I think you're right," Raven said softly, leaning her head on his shoulder.

And even the coming night couldn't put out the light in their hearts that bound them together.

-==OOO==-

The End


End file.
